To See The Past Future
by RikuRoyalty
Summary: His eyes looked different. They were still his, just less cheerful. Almost as if he had seen hell and back. "What happened to you Naruto?"
1. Chapter 1

**Me: I'm a little shocked at the lack of Naruto/Mass Effect crossovers. The possibilities are endless! Especially with the three (shitty) 'open ended' endings we got, we can fill in the plot-holes with our own bullshit!**

* * *

Sakura placed her palms over Naruto's head in a desperate effort to figure out what the Hell was wrong with him. As the green glow touched his skin, the blonde-haired shinobi twitched. His eyes were tightly shut as if he were in great pain, yet the medic-nin couldn't find anything wrong with him. Shaking, the pink-haired Kunoichi growled in frustration as her teammate didn't show any signs of waking up.

_Damn this mission,_ She thought, looking back at the object of her problems.

It was a simple enough B-rank and honestly it was only labeled a B-rank because of how valuable the merchandise was. An ancient piece of technology had been found buried beneath a mine. It looked like a simple box but it glowed whenever touched. They had been sent to retrieve it and bring it back to Konoha for further analysis. However, as soon as Naruto touched the damn thing, there was a bright light. Sakura couldn't see anything but she could clearly hear the screams of sheer agony from her friend.

The Kunoichi looked back at the science team behind her. All of them were staring at Naruto and herself with shock evident on their faces. "Why didn't you tell me this would happen?" She screamed at them, pushing more chakra into her palms, careful not to hurt Naruto.

The leader of the team, a balding man with giant round glasses and a light stubble , stepped forward. "It . . .I . . .we didn't know. We all touched it at one point or another and it's never done that!"

She shook her hair, letting her pink hair move side to side in an angry manner. "We need to get him to Konoha now. He's not responding to my healing techniques." She gestured at Sai, who nodded and went over to the small box. Picking up a nearby cloth, he wrapped it around the object before picking it up. Yamato reached down and picked up Naruto, gingerly shifting him to a comfortable position on his back. After a nod to one another, the three shinobi disappeared from sight and started heading toward Konoha.

* * *

Tsunade looked down at the blonde-haired boy in the hospital bed. It was eerie to see him so quiet. Even when he was asleep, he was usually snoring or whispering some nonsense about ramen. Now he was dead silent. It was almost as if he were dead. The only reassurance she had that he wasn't was the beeping of machines next to her.

The Hokage rubbed her eyes before looking at the charts in front of her. There was nothing wrong with him, physically. However, the results of his brain waves indicated that he was dreaming. The obvious distress he was feeling indicated that they were nightmares, but this distress was only spontaneous. Other times he was in complete peace or high on adrenaline. Once or twice she caught him in full sexual arousal, something she was going to give the kid shit for when he woke up.

"Thresher Maw." Tsunade's head snapped at Naruto, who was still in his coma. That was _definitely _his voice. But what the hell was a Thresher Maw? She reached for a notepad and pen and wrote down what Naruto said. As he didn't say anymore, Tsunade frowned. This could be a clue as to how to wake him up or at least on his progress through the coma. The Hokage nodded before coming to a decision. She would have someone watch over him 24/7, writing down exactly what he said.

Kakashi looked down at his student, concerned at his quiet sleep. Sighing, the copy ninja grabbed a chair and started waiting. Apparently he hadn't said anything since the Hokage's visit, but Tsunade was still hopeful that he would say more. Boredom started seeping into Kakashi's mind as he reached for the orange book in his pouch.

"Why not? We've got oceans, beautiful women, this emotion called love. According to the old vids, we have everything they want."

It was soft and probably wouldn't have been caught had the room not been silent before. Kakashi wiped his head around to stare at Naruto through his one open eye. As quickly as he could he scribbled down Naruto's exact words, waiting for more. Inside his head, he was pondering over Naruto's strange statement. What were 'vids'? And who wanted everything they had? Leaning back in his chair and relaxing his muscles once more, the copy ninja sighed. This was going to be a long night.

So engrossed in his thoughts and worries over Naruto, he forgot about his book.

* * *

**Me: The idea came to me while contemplating over Shepard's possible childhood. As an orphan on Earth, I rather saw her as ignored and in the background, if not looked down upon. Because of this, she would want to prove her worth, so she joined the Alliance. This then led to deeper thoughts of the irony of Shepard protecting Earth. If you have ever chosen the 'Earthly Orphan' background for Shepard, you would know that, according to Anderson, she had a rough childhood. The irony being that she is protecting a home that treated her badly in the past, much like Naruto. That is probably what made me write this in the first place. It was such a sudden idea that I had to get it onto paper . . .or computer whatever. **


	2. Chapter 2

**Me: I would just like to say how UNSATISFIED I was about the ending of ME3. I would like to emphasize that, the Indoctrination Theory was a MUCH better explanation then the CRAP we were handed. I would also like to point out that, instead of fixing their mistake, Bioware is simply making extra cinematic content to try and satisfy us. Of course, I am not expecting this to be satisfying in the very least. Nuh-uh. **

* * *

It had been a full week since Naruto had slipped into his coma, saying only a few strange sayings here and there. Tsunade looked down at the sheet of paper in front of her. It was full of scribbles of what Naruto had said.

"Thresher Maw."

"I'm signing up for the Alliance. If anything they'll have free food."

"Why not? We've got oceans, beautiful women, this emotion called love. According to the old vids, we have everything they want."

"Conrad, I haven't been shot in the head nearly enough times for that to sound like a good idea."

"We're gonna need bigger guns."

"Somebody up there needs my boot up his ass."

"We don't have time for this idiot, charge!"

"You can't predict how people will act, Garrus. But you can control how you'll respond. In the end, that's what really matters."

"Whatever your plan is, it's going to fail. I'll make sure of that."

"You're not even alive! Not really. You're just a machine, and machines can be broken!"

"Here's another saying: 'Go to Hell.'"

"You were a Spectre. You swore to protect the galaxy. Then you broke that vow to save yourself."

"I'm sorry . . .Ash."

"I keep trying to tell myself we're doing the right thing. I don't believe me yet."

There was no pattern to his speech. Nothing he said was mentioned twice. His tone never changed with each statement. It was always soft and void of emotion.

_Well, all except one. _Tsunade remembered the one statement where his voice quivered. "I'm sorry . . .Ash." Tears had been streaming down the sides of his face, causing Sakura (who was watching him at the time) to go into a panic. He was fine after a few minutes, yet that still didn't seem to ease the pink-haired girl's worries.

Shaking her head, the Hokage put the paper aside and reached for the pile of paperwork at her left. Suddenly, the door burst open, revealing a distraught Shizune. "Tsunade-sama! Naruto's heart had stopped!" She didn't waste time to rush to the hospital.

* * *

A day had passed since the scare of Naruto's non-beating heart. They had been able to jumpstart it but only just barely. Tsunade's hands were still shaking from the event as she sat down to watch the boy in front of her. Trying to calm herself, she started drawing circles onto the pad of paper she held in her hands.

"Please get better, Naruto." She whispered in a moment of weakness. He didn't respond. He just kept sleeping. "C'mon brat, you're tougher then this. You're going to get better." She couldn't help but talk to him as if he were listening. She prayed he was listening.

"I hope so, I died."

Tsunade froze. The statement. It was probably just a coincidence but still it reassured her in an odd way. She quickly scribbled down his words before setting down the pad of paper. She continued to talk to him for the night.

He never responded.

* * *

Another week end by. More statements had been heard from Naruto, each more confusing and filling with more and more emotion. The female Hokage was once again looking at a sheet of paper filled with his odd mumblings.

"I hope so, I died."

"Hell Garrus, you were always ugly. Slap some face-paint on there, and no one will even notice."

"Stealing from the dead, that's pretty low."

"Just once I'd like to ask someone for help and hear them say, 'Sure. Let's go. Right now. No strings attached.'"

"I'll relinquish one bullet. Where do you want it?"

"I'm offering to be your friend. You don't want to be my enemy."

"Destroyed in a Collector surprise attack. I ended up spaced."

"I got better."

"I didn't mean to make you relive that."

"We can still go back and get you exiled if you want."

"Remember the old days, where you could just slap Omni-gel on everything?"

"I trust you, but I don't trust Cerberus. Your experiments cross the line."

"That doesn't explain why you used my armor to fix yourself."

"We'll fight and win without it. I won't let fear compromise who I am."

"I'm sorry, I'm having trouble hearing you. I'm getting a lot of bullshit on this line."

"Too many lives were lost at that base. I'm not sorry it's gone."

"Joker, lose this channel."

Once again. The mumblings were spontaneous. It was like listening to only one side of a conversation. Was Naruto speaking to someone? Tsunade's eyes glared out at the paper at the thought of Kyubi. Yet, as she thought about it, she realized that it couldn't have been the demon. There was other names involved. Was this a genjutsu? Caused by the Kyubi perhaps? No, it couldn't have been Jiraya had looked at the seal and said it was intact. Tsunade had Hiashi Hyuuga check out the kid's chakra and it looked clean.

Now what the fuck was wrong with him?

The blonde leader could only rub her tired eyes and continue on with her paper work. The sake bottle at her left was full and forgotten.

* * *

**Me: Let me just also say, that I don't blame Bioware for the endings. No. I believe in Bioware and despite my anger over the endings, I don't think it was their fault by much. **

**No.**

**The blame lies at EA.**

**Worst. Company. Ever.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Me: Sometimes things change us. Whether it's an event or a person, there is always a catalyst to our change. It's our job to be stubborn about it. Cause if we weren't then we would change in the worst way. Oh sure, we could change in the best way. But what are the chances of that, given human nature?**

* * *

The third week had been a lot more painful. Naruto's mumblings were proof that whatever he was seeing was getting worse. He would cry more often and sometimes even scream out. He had said a lot more, yet still stayed in his coma. Tsunade was sitting in front of her patient with Jiraya, Kakashi, Sakura, Iruka and Sai. The people who had been on rotation during Naruto's outbursts. It was the last day of the week and they were expecting one more outburst just like the other two times.

Tsunade glanced down at the paper in front of her. It was filled with things Naruto had been saying the past week and non of them were comforting.

"We fight or we die!"

"C'here. I need to get you someplace safe."

"I'll come back for you!"

"There's a lot of people back on Earth dying while we gather our strengths. They're wondering if we're ever coming back; friends, family, parents and children. This isn't their fight. But they are buying us time with their lives... "

"Then I'm glad you managed to keep your ass alive, Anderson."

"There's a REAPER in my way Wrex!"

"Mordin, no!"

" . . . .I'm sorry."

"I was the one with bullets flying at me!"

"'Guide this one to where the traveler never tires, the lover never leaves, the hungry never starves. Guide this one Kalahira and she will be a companion to you as she was to me.'"

"Bye Thane. You won't be alone long."

"You're not telling me anything I haven't told myself Jack."

"Get out of here and back to the Normandy. We'll find another way off the station."

"I'll keep your sister safe."

"That was for Thane, you son of a bitch!"

"I keep running the numbers to see if I've missed something."

"I feel like death, but I'm moving."

"Controlling me is a lot different then controlling a Reaper."

"I think you've earned a rest. . . . .Anderson? . . . .Stay with me! We're almost through this!"

Tsunade looked from the sheet and back at the sleeping face of Naruto. He looked about ten years older by his expression. There was bags under his eyes, despite the amount of sleep he had been getting. His left arm was risen to his left side. Clutching it, as if there were a wound there.

"I think we'd rather keep our own form."

Everybody's eyes sharpened at the words, expecting another outburst.

"But you're taking away our future. Without a future, we have no hope. Without hope, we might as well be machines. Programed to do what we're told."

Once again, Naruto spoke in riddles. Hope? Machines? It was a great mystery to everyone in the room just what he was witnessing.

"But there will be peace?"

Everyone caught the hopeful tone in the blonde's statement. Although hopeful, it was tired. Something that had never been heard through him before. It was the total opposite of the energetic, unpredictable ninja they were so used to. Suddenly, his body tightened as if moving. His eyes squinted shut even tighter as if he were in great pain. His heart was beating rapidly, which set Sakura and Tsunade to work.

The next few minutes were chaos. Tsunade and Sakura were working on Naruto, who's heart only seemed to increase in speed. Both were frantically trying to figure out what was wrong, but no healing technique they knew was working. The rest of the group was standing back, helpless as they watched the scene in front of them.

The heartbeat over the monitor increased in speed ,as if trying to speed up the medic-nins that were desperately trying to save their friend. It grew faster and faster, until there was a flat tone resonating from the machine. Both the blonde and pink haired women stared at it, as if unsure of what to do. Tsunade cursed, moving back into action as she took the necessary measures to try to restart his heart.

Five minutes passed. Nothing

Ten minutes. Sakura was starting to tear up from the corners of her eyes.

Twenty minutes. Iruka was shouting at the blonde at how he would never treat him to ramen if he didn't wake up.

Thirty minutes. Jiraya was punching the wall and mumbling to himself as he watched Naruto.

Forty minutes. Kakashi couldn't move. He could only numbly look on and wonder just how badly he had failed his sensei.

Fifty minutes. Sai's hands were shaking as he tried to keep his composure. He wondered briefly if there was a book that could help him coup with grief.

An hour. Tsunade looked up at the clock before finally her exhausted body couldn't take the strain of trying to revive him.

"Time of death. 4:37 P.M."

Her tone was devoid of life as she looked on at the blonde in front of her. Her eyes didn't look at his face, but rather the necklace that was adorned from his neck. Growling in frustration, she punched the whiskered-boy right in the chest, knocking the chords that were on his chest lose. They fell to the floor. Tsunade's head fell to the bed, hiding her tears and silent sobbing.

Everyone in the room kept their heads bowed, not wanting to move and confirm that this nightmare was real. They didn't dare look at Naruto.

Five minutes passed. No one had moved.

Ten minutes passed. A finger twitched.

Fifteen minutes passed. Eyelids shifted briefly as more fingers moved to grip into a fist.

Twenty minutes passed. A sharp intake of breath was made, yet no one could hear it over Sakura's sobbing.

Thirty minutes passed. Blue eyes opened up to the world, looking over at his makeshift family in confusion.

Forty minutes passed. Finally, his mind had cleared enough to realize just who these people were.

Fifty minutes passed. He reached out and patted the woman's blonde head, unsure of what she was crying about.

An hour finally went by, leaving the boy in the room wondering if he should say something. "Did someone . . .die?" He winced at his croaked voice. It left him to wonder just how long he had used it. The woman under his head stiffened, as if realizing something. "I . . .Ba-chan? W-What happened?" Heads twirled around, stunned at the now-awake boy in front of them.

The Hokage slowly lifted her head, causing Naruto to pull back his hand. It was the first time in three weeks that Tsunade had gotten to see Naruto's eyes. But his eyes looked different. They were still his, just less cheerful. Almost as if he had seen hell and back. "What happened to you Naruto?" She found herself whispering.

Naruto's gaze went to the ceiling. He looked like he was in deep thought, something very unusual for the blonde. Everyone was about to panic at how quiet he was being when finally he answered, "Oh, you know. Kicked some ass, saved the galaxy, kicked some more ass and in the end realized the politicians are still assholes." He sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

Tsunade couldn't help it, she burst out laughing.

* * *

**Me: I always wondered what it would be like to witness life through another person's eyes. It would probably be a bit of an eye opener, if not life-changing. **


	4. Chapter 4

**Me: Combining the attitude of Shepard and Naruto is proving to be a challenge. I'm still playing with the idea right now, so Naruto may seem OOC but that is kind of the point of this fanfic, now that I think about it.**

* * *

Naruto was in his hospital bed staring out the window. His mind was going over something that would haunt him for the rest of his days. It didn't take him long to figure out that the 'memories' he was seeing wasn't really his. Everything was too . . .unreal. It was like he caught a glimpse of the future, but at the same time he knew that wasn't it.

He was in the next cycle. The next cycle of life that took place after the Reapers. His mind raced through the events that he was forced to witness just days ago.

_Shepard leaned in on the device, activating it with what little strength she had. Behind her, she could hear a grunt from her commanding officer and father figure. Slowly, she turned around and limped toward him. Her legs finally gave out as she slid down to take a seat next to him. _

"_Commander." His voice rang out in the empty room._

_Shepard couldn't help but grin. Her face cracking with dried blood. "We did it." _

"_Yes, we did." He responded with absolute certainty. "It's, uh, quite a view." _

_Shepard tried to laugh, but found herself choking slightly on her own blood, "Best seats in the house." _

"_God . . .feels like years since I just . . .sat down." _

_The woman smiled at her father figure, understanding all too well how he felt. "I think you earned a rest." _

Naruto shook his head at the oncoming memories. Tears started forming in his eyes at the raw emotion he felt through Shepard.

"_You did good, child. You did good. I'm proud of you." _

The blonde-haired shinobi punched the wall next to him, leaving a sizable dent. Deciding that staying in the hospital wasn't going to help any, he went to the closet near him. His clothes had been placed on the end of his bed, but he ignored them. Despite his love for his favorite orange, he knew that anyone seeing him in those would recognize him instantly and right now he really needed to be alone.

Opening the closet door, he spotted the extra clothes that the hospital generally provided. It was a necessity for every shinobi hospital to have them, as most injuries needed to be treated with cutting away any clothes. It was only a basic set that was easy to move in, but it was perfect for what Naruto had in mind.

Putting on the black pants, white shirt and grey hoodie, the blonde-haired shinobi was ready. He didn't bother with a Henge, knowing that it would've been sensed immediately. Instead he simply flipped the hood over his hair and eyes and strapped his sandals, jumping out of the hospital window.

His legs moved on their own, going from training ground to training ground, trying to find one that was empty. Finally, he came upon an unused one surrounded by trees. He turned and faced the dummies and posts that had been strategically placed, starting his taijutsu training.

He kicked and punched the training post. Imagining new enemies each time. First it was Akatsuki, then it was Sasuke, Orochimaru . . .then it was Saren, The Illusive Man, Kai Leng . . . .

Frustrated, Naruto gave the post one last kick before letting himself fall down into the grass. He groaned at the soreness in his leg, knowing that he had kicked incorrectly and was now sporting a scrap on his shin. He shook his head and waited for Kyubi to heal it, just like he always did.

This whole ordeal had been . . .odd to say the least and traumatizing to say the worst. Odd because he now knew what it felt like to be a woman. He knew how to balance himself as one, how to fight as one and even knew what sex felt like as one. (That was an image he wasn't happy with) Traumatizing because of what said woman had to go through. Dying twice, both in gruesome manners, were part of that. The cold emptiness of space and the feeling of his molecules being picked apart one by one. Naruto shuddered at the memories.

Yet, those weren't the memories that bothered him the most. Oh, they were terrifying and would probably be in his nightmares to come, but they weren't the worst of it. There was Earth. The screams and the little boy. There was Thane. How he was stabbed by Kai Leng. There was Mordin. How he died, correcting his mistake. There was Miranda. Who died in his arms, knowing that he could be trusted with protecting her sister. There was Anderson . . . .the father figure in his life.

No. Not his life. Shepard's life. The _woman _Shepard. The soldier not the shinobi.

"Naruto?" The boy turned his head slightly to the right, finding Sakura standing there, looking at him in slight fear. "You weren't in the hospital and . . . ." She trailed off as if she realized something. Her eyes caught her teammates. They were the same sapphire she was used too. Instead they were replaced with a stormy blue, misted over in grief. Although not used to those eyes, she remembered them. They were the same eyes she had seen Naruto wear at the Third Hokage's funeral. "Tsunade-sama is calling for you." She finally said.

"Thank you Sakura." No 'chan'. There was familiarity in his tone but his usually friendliness seemed to be replaced by a professional demeanor. The pink-haired girl could only watch as Naruto lifted himself up and ran off in the direction of the Hokage's office. Briefly, she noticed that his clothes were not orange.

* * *

Naruto arrived at the Hokage's office in record time. He stood in front of her desk, calmly waiting and letting his hood fall down to reveal his face. Tsunade barely noticed him with how quiet he was. Frankly his new attitude was putting her an edge. She looked at his clothes and furrowed her brow. If she had remembered correctly, his clothes weren't damaged and should have been given to him already. She would mention it later.

"Naruto, I need you to tell me what know about the box." The Hokage couldn't help but feel a pang of guilt as he flinched under her words. It was obvious that he didn't feel like talking about it, but she needed to know if the box was a danger.

The blonde-hair shinobi shuffled his feet, not really sure how to answer. " . . . .It was a container." His mind raced to the exact moments when Liara, Javik and Shepard had constructed the box in an effort to warn the next cycle. He swallowed before continuing, "It . . .was meant to hold memories. There are more . . .though I'm not sure if they survived. Each one holds the memories of a person that can be transferred."

Tsunade's eyes widened. She leaned back in her chair and picked up the sheets on her desk of the words that Naruto had mumbled when he was asleep. She was quiet for a few seconds before asking, "And you have these memories?"

The boy's hands shook as he clenched his fists and looked down. Weakly, he responded, "Yes." Naruto licked his lips, eyes widening at the surge of fresh memories cropping up to the forefront of his mind, "I . . .I was a woman. A soldier. Oh Kami, the things she's seen. H-her whole team died in a Thresher Maw attack a-and before that she was an orphan like me. There was t-the Collector Base and. . . Ba-chan . . .s-she died _twice _and I could _feel _it." He took a few deep breaths before calming himself. This wasn't the time for a mental breakdown.

"Naruto . . .do you need Jiraya to perform a memory seal on you?" It was small, but it was all she could really offer him. Whatever this 'Shepard' had went through, it was obvious it wasn't anything they could dream up.

He chuckled weakly before shaking his head, "No . . .these memories are important. They're a warning. I . . .I need to go through them, but I think they can help us in the long run." Tsunade didn't say anything but simply nodded her head in understanding. This was his way of coping. She dismissed him until further notice, causing him to nod and walk away.

Before he shut the door closed behind him, she could swear he said, "Thank you, sir."

* * *

**Me: I have been debating with myself and I can't decide what to do. I thought maybe I should have Shepard be a separate conscious in his mind but then I felt that would be odd since Shepard is dead and her spirit wasn't exactly called back. Unless the conscious was created by Naruto as a way to cope with what Shepard went through, but then I would have to get into the physiological aspect of that, which would be interesting. OR I could leave it as it is. No separate conscious, just Naruto learning how to deal and growing up much too quickly. Hm, decisions, decisions. **


	5. Chapter 5

**Me: It took me a while to choose which ending of Mass Effect that I wanted to use. I don't want the threat of the Reapers looming over the Naruto world but I also want an explanation as to what happened to them regarding being connected to the galaxy. Hmm, this is going to be tough.**

* * *

"Hokage-sama!" yelled out a voice as a scientist burst through the door. Tsunade straightened up and stared at the man in front of her, who looked sickly pale and shaking. "W-we opened the box. I think you should see this." The blonde-haired woman nodded, getting out of her chair to follow the man to the science division.

They walked through the white hallways. Turning corners and passing doors until finally they came upon one room labeled '7'. The man opened the door with his security card, letting in Tsunade who didn't spare him a glance. Instead she looked at the object in front of her. The box that had given her so much trouble and grief.

Only, it wasn't a box anymore. The top of it had opened up, or jutted out in some form. Now it looked like a bow with a cylinder on top. One of the female scientists looked at Tsunade and nodded to everyone else in the room. The scientist reached toward the box-cylinder and pressed the cylinder down with a click.

Suddenly, as if by magic, a holographic figure appeared on top of the cylinder. It was . . .female, as far as Tsunade could tell. The figure had blue, scaly skin and bright blue eyes to match. The top of her head looked like tentacles, but they were twisted together and pulled back. The figure wore a white outfit with some sort of holster on either side.

She opened her mouth to speak, but what came out was a foreign language. No one in the room could understand her, yet the grave look on her face showed just how important her message was.

Tsunade's eyes glared out onto the figure before barking out her orders, "Get me Naruto Uzumaki!"

* * *

Naruto was being escorted by a couple of scientists through the facility. His eyes darted back and forth, unwarranted memories were drifting through his mind as they went deeper and deeper into the maze of hallways.

"_You're all strangers to me!" _

He rubbed his tired eyes, trying to not think about the Lazarus Project. They walked until they reached a room labeled '7'. An image of the 'N7' logo replaced it for a split second before returning to just a normal '7'. He rubbed his eyes again, trying to regain any sanity left.

The scientists let him through and he was greet with Tsunade and more scientists. Shivering, Naruto looked over at the box in the middle of the room. It looked different from before. There was a cylinder on top. Naruto didn't look at anyone, as the box seemed to draw in his full attention. Lost in memories, he reached out for the cylinder. A scientist was about to stop him, but Tsunade stilled his hand, letting Naruto continue. The blonde-haired boy touched the top of the cylinder and gently pushed down until he heard a 'click'.

Liara's image popped onto the cylinder, something Naruto had been expecting, but it still brought tears to the corners of his eyes. Tsunade placed a hand on his shoulder and handed him a pen and paper. It was obvious what she wanted him to do, but he asked anyway.

"Translate." Was all she said, her face grave as she waited for the figure to speak. Naruto nodded, sitting down at a desk in front of the box and getting read to write.

"**If you're watching this, then that means you have found our lost technology." **Liara sighed and rubbed her forehead as she continued, **"We won, but at a heavy cost. The Mass Relays were destroyed, everyone was separated and . . . .Shepard's gone." **Naruto's hand started shaking, but he continued to write, **"The Reapers are dead. If we had failed, this message would have been entirely different. I would be warning you about the oncoming threat, about the cycles, but none of that matters anymore." **Her voice broke a little, but still she continued, **"I'm here to tell you about Commander Shepard. How she was a person born once every millennia and how we may still need her guidance. Inside this container, lies the whole of Shepard's memories. How she lived and how she died. The memories will only go to the person with similar brain waves. Be cautious, as this process is highly strenuous on the mind and will kill the receiver if they are not prepared." **Naruto let out a bitter chuckle.

"**We are now in the process of rebuilding the Mass Relays, but I do not think that there will be enough time. I have sent out copies of this box to the outskirts of the galaxy, aimed at the planets that were said to contain colonies or life forms of any kind." **The blonde couldn't help but be impressed with Liara's insight, yet also wondered what was the point of keeping Shepard's memories alive. **"Before Shepard died, she sent out a video feed of her . . .collaboration with the 'God Child' aboard the Citadel. The 'God Child' gave us a warning that the peace would not last despite our collective efforts to being all the species together. With the destruction of all synthetics, we knew that it was inevitable that war would once again rise." **Naruto furrowed his brow and stared at Liara, wondering where she was going with this. **"The only person who we believe can uphold the peace is Shepard. Therefore, when we found her barely alive, we copied the information from her brain and sent them out in hopes that someone would rise again." **

Liara sighed, her voice shook as she gave out her last few words, **"Please . . .whoever receives her memories, do not hate us for what we've done. We lost a Commander, a role model and a friend. If there is any way possible to keep her alive . . .then this is it. I know what she's seen may cause you more pain then you asked for but understand that she is an important person. One of a kind ****in every way. We need her, the galaxy needs her." **Naruto looked down at his paper, noticing that he was a little behind. He sped up, leaving his handwriting messy. **"Know that you are not alone. Everyone on the Normandy has volunteered to copy their memories into this container. Simply have someone with similar brain waves touch the box and they will receive the memories of that person. Also, EDI is 'sleeping' in here as well. She 'died' in the magnetic pulse left by the destruction of the Reapers, but we were able to copy her personality and memories onto here as well. The passcode to 'waking' her up is: 'I am alive.' Thank you."**

The room was silent as Naruto simply scribbled down the last words and the figure flickered out of existence. "Naruto?" questioned Tsunade as the boy simply handed her the sheet of paper.

"Her name is . . .was Liara. I know her from . . .the memories." He sighed, "There are more memories from different people. I can probably guess who. If other people touch the box, other people who match the brain waves of the memories in the box, then they will receive them. So, I would be careful about who touches the thing." He looked up at the ceiling in thought, "There is also a uh . . .AI."

Tsunade looked confused, but the scientists all whispered to one another at the possibilities. "What's an 'AI'?" The Hokage asked, throughly annoyed that she didn't have all the information.

A male scientist spoke up, "It's an 'Artificial Intelligence'. A computer that has the ability to think up new ideas like a human would. It's practically sci-fi technology. We're eons away from anything like that." Naruto shrugged when Tsunade looked at him with raised eyebrows. "If it's true that an AI is in this box, there are unlimited possibilities as to what we can do. The Fire Country would be superior in everything technology wise."

Stretching his arms out, Naruto spoke up, "I would be careful. Way back when, there was a species called the Geth, that were created by the Quarions. They were AI that evolved and rebelled through their masters. Not that I blame them for it, the Quarions were going to shut them down. AI were considered highly dangerous, especially after an incident before the Geth were created, so when the Geth were showing signs of AI potential, they needed to be shut down. Or at least, according to the law they needed to be." The blonde looked back at the box before musing. "EDI is harmless, but a lot of people make the mistake of treating an AI like they're a thing. Which, in reality, they should be treated like a person."

The scientists all backed away from the box, thinking twice about letting out an AI, thanks to Naruto's speech. Tsunade was staring at the boy in shock. Never had she heard him speak that way before. It was like he was replaced with an entirely different person. Someone insightful, logical and a hell of a lot more convincing with words.

She cleared her throat before folding the sheet of paper in her hand and tucking it in her kimono. "We'll take our leave. I'll let you know if we decide to wake up this . . .AI. Do not mention this to the council, in any way, shape or form. I will inform them myself when we have more information. For now, I do not want anyone to make rash decisions regarding the box. You will report to me _everything _you discover, no matter how big or small, understood?" Everyone nodded, no one willing to go against the Hokage. "Also, you are not to speak about the box, or Naruto to anyone outside this room. I assume this is everyone who even knows of its existence?" There was a collective nod. "Good. Now get back to work."

Tsunade grabbed Naruto's arm, pulling him out of the room. Once they were alone in the hallway, she turned to him. "Once I go through the paper myself, I want to talk to you about your . . .memories. There may be a way we can help you regarding them, without you actually forgetting them." Naruto nodded, although hesitantly. The Hokage before him simply closed her eyes and sighed, motioning for him to follow. He obeyed, wondering just how he was going to survive the conversation with Tsunade.

* * *

**Me: I decided what I'm going to do with Naruto's mind set. I'm not revealing anything, as I don't have it all organized in my own head, but it will be interesting, so say the least.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Me: Ah, maybe I should be more clear with the type of Shepard that I'm using in the fan fiction. I've gotten a lot of questions about her. Well, first of all she is female. Which confused someone who didn't play ME, but let me be clear that you can choose your gender in ME and for this fic, I choose a female. (For reasons that will be disclosed later.) She is an Earth-born orphan, who was in a situation much like Naruto's. She has the Sole Survivor as a career background and romance choice I will leave out for now until I decide which characters get which memories. But all-in-all she is mostly paragon with a bit of renegade. Hope that helps.**

* * *

"Naruto . . . ." Tsunade started, not sure how she should address the person in front of her. Him being this quiet was unnatural. He stood with his back straight as she address him, with his hands placed firmly at his sides. He was eerily still while he stared a hole into the ground. "What is the 'Normandy'? And whose memories are going to be coming from the Box?" She really didn't want to ask him, but he was the only one with answers with anything regarding the mysterious object.

Her heart broke all over again as she watched him flinch and his eyes darkened. Even his hair, something that was usually spiked to defy gravity, seemed to contain a noticeable bend. He wore an outfit that she normally would have attributed to his personality, but even the bright orange pants and black shirt looked depressing.

He relaxed his stance. Taking a deep breath through his nose and releasing it as he raised his gaze up to the ceiling. "The Normandy was a ship . . .under my- uh . . .under Shepard's command." Tsunade gripped the side of her desk to try and stop herself from comforting the boy in front of her. His hands at his sides were shaking and he wouldn't move his head from looking at the ceiling. "I . . .assume that the people whose memories reside in the container would be Shepard's team. I couldn't imagine them being able to fit _everyone's _memories in there. Especially since Liara was over a hundred years old."

There was a heavy pause in the room as Tsunade shifted and took out some scratch paper. "Can you tell me their names?"

Naruto hesitated before nodding. "Garrus Vakarian." Tsunade stopped and looked at Naruto with a raised eyebrow. He simply sighed and held out a hand for the pad of paper and pen. Scribbling down the name, he continued to speak while writing. "Liara T'Soni. She was the woman you saw speaking." The Hokage didn't comment. Naruto continued writing down names. "Urdnot Wrex. Jack. James Vega. Tali'Zorah Vas'Normandy. Grunt. Javik . . .Joker . . . .Kaiden Alenko . . . .Dr. Chakwas . . . .I wouldn't be surprised if Kenneth and Gabby joined up too. And if Liara was able to get to Miranda or Thane's body before . . . .Mordin's body was a lost cause . . .and I can't see Samara doing this, but . . .who knows. Well, those will just be 'maybes'. I can't be sure either way."

He handed her the list. There were two columns, one consisting of 'yes' the other of 'maybe'. Tsunade nodded before putting the paper aside. "Anything I should know about the personalities? Are any of them . . .particularly dangerous?"

Naruto scratched his head in thought, "Wrex . . .uh, yeah, you want to watch out for his . . . .dominance issues I guess. Jack . . .she's had some issues, but last I saw she had cleaned herself up pretty good, so she shouldn't be a problem. Bottom line, I think that if we do have someone touch the Box and they fall into a coma, I should be there when they wake up. I'm not . . .Shepard, but I lived her life and, to an extent, I know these people. Or memories or whatever you call them."

Tsunade propped her elbows onto her desk and laced her fingers together before resting her chin on top of them. "I would rather not have anyone touch the damn thing. But . . .I don't want you alone in this. Is there anything about these . . .memories that would be useful? Anything at all?"

Naruto's sapphire eyes brightened, "Of course! Liara was an information broker. The best in the galaxy. Garrus was a hell of a sniper and weapon's expert. Tali knew anything about machinery you could think of. Joker was the best damn pilot in the Alliance and . . .they all had their specialties. All of them were a valuable asset to my team and the best at what they did. Their memories and knowledge are priceless."

Tsunade's eyes narrowed when he said 'my' team, "Naruto, I understand that you may have felt like you lived that woman's life, but you didn't. Please be careful and try not to lose yourself in her memories." Her face softened when he gave her a startled look, "That brings me to my idea. Do you know who Inoichi is?"

He paused, wracking his brain for his original memories, "Ah, yeah. Ino's dad right? The head of the Yamanaka clan?"

The Hokage nodded, "I want him to have a look at your memories. It's one of their clan techniques they use for interrogation. The only problem is that it needs the consent of the person whose mind is going to be explored. Are you willing . . . ?"

Naruto's face furrowed at the prospect of someone being in his mind. There were memories . . .sensitive memories that he would rather nobody look at. A lot of those memories that he didn't want anyone to see belonged to Shepard. He _really _didn't want to deal with the embarrassment of someone seeing Shepard have sex, regardless of whether or not it was really him doing it.

_'Relax, kid. Let them do it. We got nothing to hide.'_

Naruto frowned at the voice in his head. He wasn't an expert, but he assumed that random voices in his head weren't a good sign. He simply shrugged it off, however. It didn't sound like the Kyuubi, so he wasn't going to deal with it right now. "Sure." He responded to Tsunade's question. "When?"

The female Hokage sighed in relief at his cooperation. "In about a week. Inoichi is on a mission right now and should be back by then. I'll send for you when we're ready." Naruto nodded, turning around to prepare to leave, when Tsunade's voice stopped him, "Oh and, take a break, kid. Stick to the D-rank missions for a while. I don't want you leaving the village until we get those memories checked out, alright?" He nodded, not looking back as he disappeared through the door.

* * *

Naruto checked his frog wallet before heading out to get some ramen. He was depressed and so, when he was depressed, he wanted ramen. Specifically Ichiraku's.

_Ever heard of ramen? It's a delicacy back on Earth!_

"Goddammit." He mumbled, shutting his wallet before stuffing his hands deep into his pockets. "Why does everything remind me of _her _memories."

"Whose memories?"

The blonde shinobi whipped his hair around to see a familiar scar and hairstyle. "Iruka-sensei." He breathed, smiling lightly. "Didn't the Hokage tell you?"

If Iruka was surprised at Naruto's sudden maturity, he didn't show it. "No. All we knew was that you were in a coma and that you were mumbling some nonsense." He waved his hand like it wasn't that big of a deal. "I'm glad you're okay. Want to grab some ramen? My treat. But I limit that statement to three bowls."

Naruto grinned at the prospect of free ramen and nodded enthusiastically. He followed his old sensei to the ramen shop, taking his seat. The old ramen maker grinned at him with Ayame smiling in the background. "A miso ramen."

"Pork for me." Said Iruka as he took his place beside Naruto.

Teuchi nodded, passing the order onto his daughter before turning his attention to the young shinobi. "I heard you were in a coma, gave us quite a scare there."

Something in Naruto wanted to tease the old man back. Something rose in his chest, causing him to throw out a retort he normally wouldn't have. "Ah, well you know. Life and death scenarios come with the territory."

Next to him, Naruto could feel Iruka tense in anticipation. The topic of life and death was a sensitive one in a village like Konoha. It wasn't something you could normally poke fun at unless you were a shinobi. Someone who could was either an old soldier, callous to the world or ready to 'throw in the towel', so to speak.

Teuchi and Ayame looked at each other before turning their attention back to Naruto. "I see . . .your order is coming right up." With that they busied themselves into making the ramen.

Naruto shrugged, taking a sip of his water before grabbing some chopsticks and snapping them apart. Iruka looked over at his former student in worry. "Naruto . . .are you alright?" he asked, not really sure if he would answer, but tried anyway.

The blonde sighed, turning his gaze over to his sensei and brother/father figure. "You want to know what that was all about?" It wasn't really a question. Iruka motioned for him to continue, he sighed again, twirling the chopsticks in his hands. "The dreams I had . . .they were more then dreams." He set down the chopsticks and started playing with his fingers instead. "I was witnessing a person's memories. A woman. Her name was Shepard. Weird name right?"

Iruka didn't respond as their ramen's were placed in front of them. Instead of diving in the heavenly bowl of soup, Naruto continued talking. "She had a . . .mentor, who saved her from herself, I guess you could say. Her entire team was killed on a mission. She was the only survivor." Naruto dug into his ramen, finishing it halfway in the blink of an eye before continuing. "Her mentor said, 'Everyone dies a one point or another. All we can do is curse the lucky bastards who go early and hope that the bar has free drinks where they are.'" He ate up the rest of his ramen, motioning for Teuchi to make another.

"After that, she never cried when a friend died." He paused as he set the empty ramen bowl aside to wait for his next one. "Never flinched in making a decision that involved the life or death of her comrades. That's not to say she wasn't sad when they were gone." Iruka's eyebrows furrowed as he listened to Naruto's story. He just didn't sound . . .Naruto-like. To an extent, that scared him. But deep down he knew that this really was Naruto. It was just a Naruto trying to cope with another person's life at the same time.

"She just . . .charged forward. Never looking back. And in the end, she saved _billions _of lives." Iruka's eyes widened a fraction. He didn't think there were a billion people on the planet, much less the elemental countries! Naruto chuckled at his reaction, licking his lips as another ramen was placed in front of him. "She was a hell of a soldier. Not even death stopped her." He stopped and turned to Iruka with eyes shining with determination. "She also knew that death wasn't something to cry about. It wasn't something to be afraid of. You need to laugh at it in the face and tell it to fuck off if you wanted to be taken seriously. That's why I'm making fun of dangerous situations. So, if and when we die, we're gonna meet up at the ramen shop in the next world and you're treating me to more then three bowls."

Iruka laughed, not in mirth at Naruto's statement, just in irony. Shinobi were taught never to fear death, but to laugh at it was _ludicrous. Insane. _And something only Konoha's number one unpredictable shinobi would find logic in. Looking over at Teuchi, Iruka motioned him over. "Give the kid five bowls, on my tab." The old man laughed while Ayame only shook her head in amusement. "And Naruto." The blonde-haired shinobi looked over at his sensei in confusion, "I'll treat you to more ramen in the next life as long as you promise to only meet me there when you have a head full of grey hair and a face full of wrinkles."

Naruto's trademark grin spread across his face, "Of course! I'm not dying till I'm an old man like Teuchi-ossan here!"

"Hey!" They heard over the counter, causing Naruto's grin to widen even further.

After finishing his fifth bowl, Naruto looked back at Iruka. "Thanks for this, sensei. I really needed it."

Iruka smiled sadly at the boy next to him, "Anytime, Naruto. Anytime."

* * *

**Me: I'm still a little stumped as to which Naruto characters should get which Mass Effect characters in memories. There are a few that I'm dead set on, but mostly I'm a little wary on how I should pair them up. If you guys have any suggestions, I'm all ears.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Me: It's a bit of an embarrassment, but my computer is CONSTANTLY crashing on me. Which goes to say, that it might be a while between chapters before I can get them up. I'm improvising with emailing me my stories and posting them via iTouch. **

**...**

**This sucks.**

* * *

Shikamaru was troubled.

It wasn't often that he was troubled before something troublesome happened. Being troubled over nothing was just a sign that troublesome things were just around the corner. It was usually a feeling he got a few days before Temari would visit Konoha or a few minutes before he was sent on an A-ranked mission.

He hated being troubled.

Yet, at the same time, all the troublesome people were no where in sight. Temari had not been scheduled to visit. There was no immediate summon for him to go on a mission. Hell, even _Ino _was away on an assignment. So, that only left one last troublesome person.

Naruto Uzumaki.

Of course, the Nara had heard about the Jinchuriki's coma. Shikamaru was admittedly worried about his friend. He had even gone to visit him a couple times. Though, oddly enough, someone was always there holding a pad and paper. Shikamaru could guess why they were there by the intense stares each of them had on the blonde's lips, as if waiting -no- _urging _him to say something.

What he was saying in his sleep, he could only guess. Whatever it was, it put the Lady Hokage on edge and only those closest to Naruto were allowed to be in his room for long. Being a Nara, he was able to deduce that whatever he was saying probably had to do with the artifact that Team Seven had been sent to retrieve. He decided, now that Naruto was awake, he was going to interrogate the orange-clad shinobi.

It was troublesome but the blond genin had scared him -and everyone else- with all that _sleeping _he did.

He noted, as he entered the ramen shop, that Naruto wasn't as orange as he used to be. His pants were black and his shirt was white. The only thing that was orange was his trademark jacket that was now tied around his waist. What was really out of character for Naruto was his expression. While his eyes still held a flicker of that mischievous light that Shikamaru recognized from their academy days, it was watered down. Almost like them being in the academy was forty years ago instead of four.

The blonde shinobi didn't acknowledge Shikamaru, but he knew he was there. Determinedly, the blue-eyed shinobi stared at his chopstick as he twisted them in his hand. They hovered over what looked like his sixth bowl of ramen that was only half-finished. It looked like he was going to take another bite, but hesitated as he waited to see what would happen.

The lazy Nara watched as Iruka patted Naruto's shoulder, earning him a grin (though admittedly not as big as it once was), before he walked away. Black eyes met brown as Iruka glanced at the Nara standing in the shadows. Discreetly, Iruka nodded to the younger man before disappearing.

The lazy boy sighed and walked forward before muttering, "Troublesome."

And it definitely was.

* * *

Naruto knew he was there.

How could he not? The Nara just emitted a feel of 'I'm watching you and I'm going to figure you out'. That and he was only half-heartedly hiding his presence. The blonde sighed as Iruka got up to walk away, but not before putting a reassuring hand on his shoulder. Taking his place was Shikamaru, slouching as he sat down.

A grin slowly made it's way across Naruto's lips. _A Nara without theories is a dead Nara. _It was just like Shikamaru to approach him. He knew there was probably more to this then anyone else did.

'_Damn scary for a kid, if you think about it.' _

Naruto frowned at the voice in his head. It wasn't the Kyuubi. No . . .he would know if it was _that. _It had appearing so often lately though that it was worrying him. Also, it wasn't filled with malice. Stern, yes. But not evil. Almost . . .tired.

He almost laughed at that. _Naruto Uzumaki? Worry? _What has this world come to?

He barely noticed his neighbor order some chicken ramen. Shit he was staying for a while.

'_Relax, kid. Remember, we got nothing to hide.'_

Naruto wondered briefly if he was going insane. Yeah, that was probably it.

"How was your nap?"

Naruto snorted at the blunt-yet-evasive question. "Could've been better. Not enough wet dreams." It had been a joke, but the memory of having sex as a _woman _caught up to him and he shivered. Ok, not the best joke in the world. Now that he thought about it, it didn't seem like him to make a joke like that. He really hoped he wasn't turning into Ero-sennen.

'_You won't. I think the memories scarred you for life anyway.'_

There was a damn voice again. It was so goddamn _commanding. _He couldn't help but _obey _and be _respectful. _What the fuck was wrong with him?

The Nara cocked an eyebrow at Naruto's obvious inner-struggle but didn't comment. Instead, he snapped a couple of chopsticks apart and began to eat his chicken ramen as Naruto finished his own. Chewing on the noodles, the Nara thought over the Jinchuriki's reactions, his mind moving at light-speed.

Naruto, in the meantime, had finished his bowl of ramen but hadn't motioned for another one like he usually did. He was, for a rare time in his life, thinking over what he should say.

'_He's going to figure it out anyway. Tell him the truth.' _

By this time, Naruto's irritation with the unknown voice was sky-rocketing.

'Who the fuck are you?' He screamed in his mind.

There was a rich, but soft laughter in his head, confirming his suspicions that those thoughts weren't his own. And it definitely wan't the Kyuubi.

'_Who do you think?'_

Growling under his breath, Naruto looked over at the Nara as he was being studied.

'_He won't blab. He's trustworthy and a brilliant strategist. He could help.' _

'Help with what?'

'_I think you already know the answer to that question.'_

Yes, yes he did. He painfully knew that he needed help. He just didn't feel completely like . . .Naruto. It was almost like being back in the Demon Cloak. He had _some _control over his mind, but there was a constant presence, urging him in a certain direction.

'_Kid, you need your friends right now. Especially now. Let him help.'_

With a deep breath, the blonde closed his eyes and bowed hi head a little in defeat. "Shika . . ." He started, "Do you know what it's like to watch your entire home burn?"

For a moment the strategist look startled. This wasn't his area of expertise. Inoichi would be much better for this psychological crap. Yet . . .something told him that Naruto didn't need Inoichi, not yet. Now, he just needed a friend. A friend who would listen, or was too lazy to speak out. How troublesome.

"Is that from your 'dreams'?" He decided just to push Naruto a little into talking, maybe get a feel for what he was dealing with here.

A bitter laugh escaped the normally cheerful boy. "Yeah . . .they're more like nightmares actually." He paused for a second, opening his eyes to squint at something at the bottom of his ramen bowl. "There was a . . .boy when the we were first attacked." Naruto didn't move from his position. "Couldn't have been more then seven . . .maybe eight." Naruto shook his head, his spiky hair shifting side to side. "Was killed while trying to get away. Couldn't make it. Everyone on that ship couldn't make it."

War. Naruto had seen war. Now it all made sense. The stiffness, jumpiness and haunted look in his eyes. Something told the Nara that it wasn't just any war either. "It's okay Narut-"

"NO IT'S FUCKING NOT!"

Teuchi and Ayame jumped at the suddenly raised voice of Naruto. Luckily, there were no more patrons around at this time of night, or else some shinobi might have been a bit kunai-happy.

The Nara watched, wide-eyed, as his friend continued, "She . . .I . . . WE left people down there. We had to. There were people there . . .families. We didn't want to leave but we had to. Because with their lives as distractions we had more time to bring in reinforcements."

Another thing occurred to Naruto that he hadn't really anticipated. Survivor's guilt. Anxiety. Depression. Loss of drive. And nightmares. And it was all in one big fucking bundle. Just great. There were shinobi who went through it all the time, but this was the first time he was feeling it.

'_Take a few deep breaths . . .There you go . . .remember, we didn't survive, not really. So there's nothing to be guilty about. Also, you can't save what is lost-"_

'But I can protect those that are here.'

Naruto looked over at his friend after his little outburst, smiling sheepishly as he scratched the back of his head. Shikamaru seemed to have similar thoughts as he 'hm'ed' before dropping a few Ryo on the counter. As he got up to leave, he turned back to Naruto, "Whoever's memories you watched, don't confuse yourself with them." The Nara hesitated before turning around to leave, "That doesn't mean don't _learn _from them."

Naruto was left wondering just how much the Nara heir knew.

* * *

**Me: I've always loved Shikamaru. Brilliant and lazy. I know a lot of people like this. I know Naruto is a bit OOC . . .ok he's completely OOC but he's probably going to be more like Shepard for a while. I mean, he just woke up after roughly thirty years (to him) of memories. Everyone else just waited three weeks. Give him time and he will be his awesome Naruto-y self again! If a bit more mature. **

**As for the memories to characters thing . . .I think I've finally got them all matched. Only problem I seem to be having is matching up minor characters from Mass Effect. They aren't _needed _in the story, but they would certainly make it more interesting. **


	8. Chapter 8

**Me: Just to be clear. The Shepard I chose for the story is NOT the Shepard of my play through. Everyone (Except for Thane and Mordin) survived! The only reason I killed off Miranda is because I didn't want the picture perfect Shepard. Shepard makes mistakes and unfortunately that mistake cost Miranda her life.**

* * *

Dreams were a common occurrence now. Not all of them were nightmares, like before. This was a huge relief on Naruto's shoulders and bit by bit he was becoming his old self again.

Still, no one kept the hope that he would ever go back to being 'Naruto'.

Sakura often visited him. Checking on his health and whether or not he was sleeping. Eventually a week went by without much incident. The week after, however, was problematic.

Iruka had gone to visit Naruto, bringing with him some fresh fruit and vegetables. (The boy needed to eat better in his opinion) When he opened the door, he caught the blonde-haired shinobi eating some soldier pills. When the older man asked him why, Naruto sighed and replied, "Sometimes I throw up after a nightmare. I figured taking the nutrient pills would help me out."

That left him in for a loop, "Even ramen?" It was probably a stupid question, but he asked it anyway.

Blue eyes looked at him in confusion, "Honestly, I haven't eaten much ramen since the last time I was at Ichiraku's. Granted, it's the most of what I _can _eat. Everything else has either been tasteless or I was too scared about it coming back up again. Baa-chan says it's cause I was in a coma for so long that my stomach shrunk or somethin'." He scratched his head in a very Naruto-like fashion, which let Iruka breath out a sigh of relief.

"Try to eat something light. Like soup, if you can. And no, not ramen. Just some broth. You know how to make it?"

A laugh erupted from the blonde's lips. It felt good to the old teacher. It felt genuine. "Iruka-sensei, I live by myself and I have thirty years of memories crammed in my head. I think I can handle it."

Iruka frowned, "What do you mean 'thirty years'?'

Naruto waved at him as if it wasn't that important. He took the fruits and vegetables from Iruka and started putting them away. "The woman . . .Shepard. You know, I can't remember her first name. No one ever called her by her first name. Might've been something like June or Jane or somethin'."

The boy sighed, taking the bunch of bananas and ripping a fruit from it's bundle. He held the yellow fruit in his hands, unsure of whether or not he should eat it. He and his old sensei both seated themselves at Naruto's table, the blonde shinobi was still holding his banana. Iruka snorted as a stray thought came to him, "Guess this means you're older then me."

Blinking, the boy looked up at his surrogate brother. There was an awkward silence between them until Naruto started snickering. Eventually Iruka joined in until they were both brought to full-blown laughter. Dropping the banana on the table, Naruto clutched his stomach as his sides started to ache. "Y-yeah, I guess so." Naruto gasped between breaths. Then suddenly, he stopped laughing as an unbidden memory popped into his mind, making him shutter. He groaned and hit his head on the table in front of him several times.

Iruka couldn't help but be amused. He watched as his student continually banged his head against the table. "What's wrong?" He asked, bringing his laughter down to a chuckle.

Naruto groaned again, "You don't want to know."

The brown-haired man raised an eyebrow, "Oh? Try me."

Sighing, the boy looked up to meet his teacher's gaze, "Iruka-sensei. I just lived through the life of a _woman _for _thirty years. _There are _some experiences _that you just cannot understand."

Puzzled, the older man stopped laughing completely. Of course, if it was anyone but Iruka they would have gotten the hint, but he just had to ask. "Like what?"

Naruto rolled his blue eyes in exasperation, wondering who was the one who was supposed to be more dense, "Like having a menstrual cycle for one. You _really _don't want to know what that feels like."

Iruka paled at the implications, but then thought on what Naruto said for a few seconds, "You know, you might just be the only male in the world who understands women to some degree."

Naruto snorted, "Try the galaxy."

* * *

After that confrontation, Naruto started having more nightmares. At first, Sakura thought that he was improving, as he didn't wake up screaming or throwing up anymore. Yet, if anyone caught the blonde waking up from a dream, they would see this extremely disturbed look on his face and a noticeable loss of color in his features.

Regardless, his dreams had nothing to do with the _violent _aspect of his 'former life'. So, to Naruto, it was a step up.

It wasn't until halfway through the third week that he decided to meditate and visit the old fox bastard. He found it strange that the demon had been quiet for this long. Usually, he would whisper in Naruto's ear when he was of a weak state of mind like before. Naruto didn't think much of it, until he arrived in his mind-scape.

To say he was shocked was an understatement.

Instead of the old dripping sewer that he was expecting, he was standing in Shepard's old room that was aboard the Normandy. Looking around, he could see that everything was in place. The weird closet, the fish tank, the orange alarm clock, even the papers on the desk still had the information that Shepard left strewn about before she died.

It took him a second to realize that he was lying on the bed. Blinking, he raised himself up onto an elbow and looked down at his cloths. He was wearing a deep orange t-shirt with the Uzumaki Clan symbol on the front in red. His pants were black and styled much like the military-issued pants that Shepard often wore. Around his neck was the necklace he won from Tsunade and another that he instantly recognized as Dog Tags.

There were two, as per usual with military personal, however they differed from one another. The first one had an N7 symbol engraved on one side and the words 'COMMANDER SHEPARD' on the other. He wasn't particularly surprised by this, so he inspected the second Dog Tag.

This one was . . .peculiar. Like the first one, it had a symbol on one side and a name on the other. Only this time the symbol was of Konoha (it actually looked strangely like his headband) and the name was NARUTO UZUMAKI. It took Naruto a second to recognize it as _his _name, as the letters were written in English and not Common. He sighed, letting the Tags rest around his neck before getting off of the bed. There was no use pondering it now, he had to find the Fox Bastard.

Instantly, he walked over to the elevator. He didn't bother to glance at the fish or the medals that were seen through the corner of his eyes. As he came up to the panel in the elevator, he paused, looking at the names of the floors.

The first one was the floor he was one. It read 'Shepard's Bedroom'. He ignored that one and looked at the second. 'Naruto's Bedroom'. He frowned at that and ignored it for now. He would look at that later. What bothered him was the third and fourth names for the floors. 'Kurama's room' and 'Meeting Room' were neatly displayed in front of him.

Remembering his manners about entering someone's room without permission, he tapped on the 'Meeting Room'. Despite his obliviousness, Naruto could guess who 'Kurama' was and probably should have gone there if he wanted to talk to the Fox Bastard. Yet, his curiosity was more inclined toward the 'Meeting Room' at the moment. This had never happened in his mind before and it was puzzling, to say the least.

When the doors opened, Naruto gaped at the room in front of him.

It was a lot like the Council Room in the Hokage Tower, only much more futuristic. The walls were all a dull silver, though it was clear that they were made of metal. Swirls were carved into the metal, all of them holding a similar shape to the Uzumaki Clan symbol or the Konoha Leaf symbol. The lines glowed a faint yellow, red and orange, changing intensity periodically. In the middle of the room was a dark wooden table with a faint red light on the edges. The chairs matched the table, each with the red light lining it's features.

Pushed up against the walls were bookshelves, all had intricate swirls on them as well. The swirls all were pulsing the color orange and on the bookshelves were mixtures of scrolls and even omni-logs that Naruto had often seen Shepard use o record something.

Needless to say, it was pretty damn impressive.

"Well, you're here early."

Whirling around on instinct, Naruto threw a punch to the voice behind him. It was caught in a palm. An oddly soft palm. The blonde blinked before looking up at the person who he had just attacked. He felt his jaw loosen itself as he started comprehending what he was seeing.

Before him was Shepard. Her shoulder-length red hair and laughing blue eyes caught his attention immediately. Her outfit look like an N7 version of an ANBU uniform. The jacket she wore had an N7 logo on the lower right side. The jacket had no sleeves but a hood that was hanging lazily on her back. It was black on the outside, but it obviously held some red on the inside. Her black pants were what any standard shinobi would wear, except she didn't have a pouch, only a small holster for a handgun. Instead of sandals, she wore combat boots that was probably hiding a knife.

"H-how?" He asked, voice weak at the older woman in front of him.

She gave in an amused look before releasing his fist, allowing him to bring his hand back to his side. "I'm not really Shepard, if that's what you're asking."

Instantly he was on guard. Taking a few steps, he put himself into a defense position. "Kyuubi?" His eyes narrowed, wondering how the Bastard Fox had gotten out of his cage.

Laughter filled the room as the woman clutched her stomach and shook her head. "No, I'm not the Kyuubi either. Hm, how to explain." She suddenly took a thoughtful look, tilting her head at the boy in front of her. "I'm you, in a sense. I will explain, but not here. I think we should talk to Fuzzy." Bringing up her hand in the universal 'mean to harm' gesture, Naruto dropped his stance but not his guard. Something was really not quite right about all this.

They walked to the elevator, standing side by side once another while waiting to reach their destination. 'Shepard' had her arms crossed but it didn't look like she was getting defensive or uncomfortable. Her stance was completely relaxed and her finger tapped on her arm to the rhythm of a song.

The doors swung open, letting water from the other side come in on the bottom. Naruto stepped out on top of the two-inch deep water and looked around at the familiar sewer. 'Shepard' was close behind, her feet creating ripples and waves as she couldn't step up on the water.

"**You're too much trouble, Kit." **Looking up at the cage, Naruto noted that the Fox Bastard looked the same as usual. There was a snort coming from the creature before he continued, **"How did you manage to gain memories even I couldn't block out? It wouldn't even let me have a peak at them, much less drive them out." **A pair of blood-red eyes turned to 'Shepard'. **"And you, how are you able to block me from the Kit?" **

Naruto watched out of the corner of his eye as 'Shepard' smirked. "I _am _him. And I think _you're _an asshole. I simply redirected the link you two have to me. I'm a . . .middleman of sorts. I'm also a defense mechanism."

"Defense mechanism?" The boy found himself asking.

Shepard tilted her head toward him, "Yeah . . .Shepard's memories . . .they're too much for one person. _Especially _a teenage kid. I've been sorting them away from you and to the side so that they're not constantly on your mind. Remember the scrolls and omni-logs in the Meeting Room? Those are just the ones I haven't been able to organize yet."

Naruto's head was spinning with all this information. (And it was coming from himself no less!) It just . . .didn't seem possible. Shepard must have noticed this because she sighed and continued explaining, "Remember the psyche ward?"

How could he forget? After the mission to Akuze, they . . .she was sent to a psyche ward for a standard procedure. Being there for a couple months gave her a bit of knowledge about the mind and how it operated, especially under 'stressful situations' as they liked to call them. Shepard called them goddamn traumatizing, life or death scenarios that were meant to be kept private to the person who experienced them. Let's just say she didn't get along with her psychiatrists.

Nodded, he watched his counterpart take a deep breath to try and explain. "You notice how it gets more and more difficult to remember Shepard's memories? I'm doing that. I was created by your subconscious to help you get through them at a much slower rate and come to terms with what happened." She paused, waiting to see if Naruto understood. It looked like he did, "So I figured, 'Ah Hell, might as well let you have some peace of mind and block out Fuzzy'."

There was snarling behind the bars to where the Kyuubi resided. His tails wiped around and he swiped his paws at Shepard, who didn't seem impressed. **"Insolent human! Just wait until-" **

"Anyway," Shepard turned back to Naruto, promptly ignoring the Fox Bastard. "I will be here and I will also be taking Fuzzy's place. Until you can emotionally take the memories I'm storing without breaking down, like you've been doing, I'm afraid."

"**Fear me! I shall slaughter your-!"**

"So . . .you aren't Shepard?" Naruto was getting a headache. The woman paused as Kyuubi's rantings just continued.

After giving a sigh, she motioned for him to follow. They left to the elevator, with Kyuubi still screaming in the background. Naruto watched as Shepard tapped on the only room they had not visited yet. 'Naruto's Bedroom'. The doors closed, the room jolted a bit, before they opened again. Naruto's eyes widened at what was in front of him.

It was something akin to the Hokage's office, only much more like a bedroom then an office. Instead of the Hokage's desk, there was a bed, pushed all the way to the window, looking out to all five heads of the Hokage. To the left, there was a closet with a wardrobe of cloths, raging from Shepard's time to Naruto's. Most of it consisted of orange, blue and black.

To the right, was the Hokage's desk. Instead of paperwork, however, there was simply the Hokage's hat. Naruto walked toward it numbly, not wanted to reach out and touch it because he knew it wasn't real. Behind the desk there was a door. Naruto frowned, knowing that that door didn't exist in the real world. He walked up to it, hesitant at first but then took the doorknob and swung it open without a second thought.

It wasn't a closet, like he was expecting. Instead, it was a library. The whole thing was stuff full of scrolls. There were no omni-logs. He gaped at the sheer amount of scrolls before shutting the door and turning away. His eyes turned to Shepard, who was leaning against the wall with her arms crossed. "Those are your memories." She paused, looking at him intensely as if she were trying to figure him out, "No, I'm not 'Shepard'." Her hand reached up to her chin in thought, "But I'm not 'Naruto' either. Not completely, anyway. Think of me as if I were a . . .shadow. Or an echo. I'm an attachment to the original, but I'm not the original itself. The only reason I say I am 'you' is because I am currently attached to your memories. Not even Kyuubi can see your memories without forcibly taking a peek. However, unlike him, you can't block me out with practice."

It was Naruto's turned to cross his arms, "So . . .what happens now?" It felt weird to ask . . .himself. He felt like he was a raving lunatic talking to himself. Which, at this point he probably was.

Shepard shrugged, "Now I keep you out of trouble and try to keep your personality in check." He furrowed his brow at that. "Look, kid. I don't want you changing just cause of the shit I went through. We don't need soldiers with the amount of PTSD that I had near the end of my career. Especially not a kid. So, do me a favor and try to relax. Once I sort everything out, we'll go through the memories one more time. This time it will be like a movie. You'll watch from the sidelines, ok?"

It was then that she did something totally unexpected. Naruto froze as he felt a pair of arms wrap around him in comfort. Despite it only being in his mind, he really didn't know how to respond. "It'll be okay. You're a good kid. I believe that you can get through it better then I did."

Before he could respond, he was jolted back into the real world.

* * *

**Me: I hope the explanation on what 'Shepard' was well understood. 'Shepard' is the mixture of Naruto's subconscious and Shepard's memories. Once again, it's a defense mechanism to try and block out the worst of the memories and keep him from emotionally breaking down. I thought this would be the most . . .realistic aspect of the fanfic. For one, Shepard's soul is NOT with Naruto. Just her memories. It's not like Naruto has just immediately soaked up her personality. He still disagrees with some of her choices that she made in life. He does feel that she had some logic and basis in her thinking, that is why his personality shifted so dramatically. Of course, anyone who viewed her memories probably wouldn't come out completely sane. At this point, he just needs to come to terms with it.**


	9. Chapter 9

**Me: I'm still here, making it incredibly difficult to determine whether or not Shepard is alive. Mwuhahahaha!**

* * *

His hands gripped the armrests with a nervous strength. Dents, caused by his fingertips, made themselves known into the wood as he clutched the chair for dear life. Nothing had even happened yet, but his nerves were still twitching, anxious to move around. The only thing keeping him grounded was his fingertips.

Tsunade stood to his right, looking down at him with a frown and worried eyes. Kakashi was on his left, lazily reading his Icha Icha book while leaning against the wall. In front of him was Inoichi, his blonde hair waving side to side as he stepped even closer.

He felt trapped.

Breathing in and out slowly to try and relieve some of the tension, Naruto dug his fingertips even further into the armrests. There was a resounding 'crack' as he splintered the wood slightly. Reluctantly, he loosened his grip.

"Now, Naruto . . . ." Inoichi started, looking at the young boy with a mixture of bemusement and pity. "I'm just going to walk around in your mind a bit. I'm not going to look at your memories, nor am I going to forcibly enter anywhere, so I want you to just relax." The blonde hesitated, but nodded all the same, allowing the mind-reader to place a hand on his temple.

* * *

There was a surging sensation. Almost like being dunked underwater without any warning. Naruto closed his eyes tightly, waiting for it to pass before he opened them again. Only this time, he was inside his mind.

He was sitting on the bed of his 'bedroom'. Looking in front of him, he saw Inoichi, staring at the room in awe. "This is your mind?" He asked, gapping as he opened the door to the 'library' behind the door by the desk.

Naruto blinked, feeling himself gain more awareness of his surroundings. "Uh, yeah. Part of it."

Inoichi turned to him, "What do you mean 'part of it'?"

Naruto shrugged, "Well . . .it wasn't always like this. Or maybe it was and I just didn't know. I was . . .restricted to one area before."

The older blonde nodded, gesturing for Naruto to show him around. The young shinobi complied, "This way." He said, leading him to the elevator. Inoichi was wary as he stepped into the metal box, but watched with interest as Naruto tapped a monitor. The doors closed for a few minutes, making the mind-reader even more nervous until finally they arrived in a room that looked oddly like the Meeting Room for the Council.

Sitting at the end of the meeting table was a woman. Inoichi noted her bright red hair and blue eyes that were narrowed in frustration. She was looking at an odd, futuristic object. It glowed a faint orange on the screen and seemed to have strange symbols running across it. She hadn't noticed the two intruders as she continued to stare at the object.

She released a groan of frustration, throwing the object to a shelf on the side of the room. "Fuckin' Illusive Man . . . . 'For Humanities best interests' my ass. Manipulative bastard. Reminds me of Danzo . . . ." Inoichi snorted at her muttering, coughing to cover up his mistake. He didn't care much for Danzo either.

The noise made her look up in surprise, but not hostility. Inoichi noticed this and filed away the information for later. Instead, she looked back and forth between Naruto and the Yamanaka. She gave another groan and let her head fall onto the table in front of her in a curiously childish manner. "Kid, please _tell _me if someone is going to be joining us next time. I need more warning."

Her tone was annoyed, but Inoichi did note an underlying amount of fondness. He looked over at Naruto who rolled his eyes, "Inoichi-ossan, this is Shepard."

The older man looked back to the woman who was currently pretending to ignore them, "The one from the memories?" Naruto nodded as Shepard raised her head to look at them.

"Technically, I'm Naruto." There was a groan next to Inoichi, causing him to look over at Naruto who was rubbing his temples, "Yeah, yeah. Deal with it, kid. Anyway, I'm sure you're much more . . .intimate with the mind then Naruto is, so you'll probably understand." She sat up, adopting a professional manner in an instant, "The memories that Shepard left behind are . . .traumatic to say the least. She had an extreme form of PTDS before she died. She was _thirty _and could barely deal with the shit going around her without falling apart. Not that anyone could blame her."

Inoichi suddenly felt a little uncomfortable as she talked about traumatic experiences so casually, "I was created by Naruto's mind as a sort of protection. He's too young to deal with these kinds of memories. Not to mention his mind is being crammed with a new language, culture and comprehension. I'm blocking a lot of those memories from him. There are a few that he can remember but that's mostly because I hadn't manifested in time. Eventually, he will remember everything and I will disappear, but for now, he needs me for protect his mind."

As it was impossible to lie in one's mind-scape, Inoichi believed her. However, he didn't know if she was withholding information or not. "What about his . . .problem?"

Her face held a brief look of confusion before widening her eyes in recognition, "Oh . . .Fuzzy, right?"

Amused at the cute nickname for a nine-tailed demon fox, Inoichi only nodded. Shepard chuckled a bit before going into an explanation, "Nothing's wrong with the seal, if that's what you're asking. I can't touch it either, only Naruto can. Or . . .the 'main' part of Naruto we'll say. In the meantime, I can block the fox's influence much better like this. As I can block out Shepard's memories, I can block out the voice of the fox. Good thing too, the shock from Shepard's memories shook Naruto's mind to the point of almost breaking."

Inoichi paled at the thought of Naruto's will breaking and falling away to the demon fox. Swallowing nervously, he was suddenly much more comfortable in the woman's presence. "About your . . .companions, Shepard-san, Hokage-sama does not wish for a valuable asset to just be left alone, but she does not wish for the people subjected to such memories to become unstable."

Shepard hummed in thought as she leaned back in her chair and stared at the intruder. "It . . .is possible. All of my teammates didn't come out of the war unscathed, neither did they go into it naively. What you can do is teach anyone who will potentially hold such memories into separating their mind. Leave one side empty, much like if you are mediating, and the other side can old their personality. The memories they receive will most likely fill up the empty space instead of clashing with the original personality."

The Yamanaka was impressed with her idea, but was still unsure, "Someone who is able to achieve that level of self-discipline in the mind must be strong willed. No, they must be _exceptionally _strong willed. It will not be easy and it might even take years."

The red-head nodded, "That might be best in the long run. If they aren't strong-willed enough to separate their mind, then they shouldn't touch the box anyway. The war . . .it was devastating. It was on a much bigger scale then what you're used to. I don't recommend people who have already seen war, but I also don't recommend naive idiots. Find people in-between that mind-set. Or don't. Honestly, I don't know what would happen, even if you do get them to separate their mind. My theory is that something similar to me will be created."

Inoichi glanced over at Naruto before shifting his attention to Shepard once more. "Do you intend to harm Konoha?"

Narrowing her eyes at him, the woman lifted her elbows on the table and laced her fingers together. "No."

"Do you intend to harm any of it's inhabitants?"

"No." Her icy stare didn't waver.

"So you intend to harm Naruto in any way, shape or form?"

She glanced at the boy beside him before answering, "No."

Inoichi nodded before looking over at Naruto, who was listening, but with a bored expression on his face. He relayed his first two questions to the boy, receiving the same answers. Satisfied, Inoichi closed his eyes and pulled himself out of the boy's mind.

* * *

Tsunade tapped her foot impatiently as she waited for either Inoichi or Naruto to open their eyes. She hated having to use mind techniques, especially on someone that was practically her grandson. More importantly, she hated waiting.

It was that box. That goddamn box that was the source of her problems. It took away the happy-go-lucky Naruto and replaced it with someone who was so . . ._tired. _It was eerie how much she was reminded of Minato. It was like he had gone through a _war. _It was like he lost _everything. _It was not _Naruto. _

Inoichi was the first to open his eyes. He gasped, stumbling back and letting Kakashi catch him. Tsunade caught Naruto as he slumped forward in exhaustion. Checking him once over, she finally determined that he was medically healthy before shifting her attention to Inoichi.

"Well?" She asked as she let her green-glowing palm trace over the man's chest.

Inoichi shook his head, "There's . . .a lot. I can tell you that he is no danger to Konoha, or himself." Tsunade's eyes glanced back at Naruto before returning to her work, "I'll give you a full report and answer any questions afterwards . . . ." The Hokage nodded, finishing up her assessment of the blonde-haired man's health before straightening up. "Hokage-sama?" He inquired, head bowed to his lap, "There's an . . .entity of sorts in his mind that contains the memories. It . . .she is blocking them from Naruto's consciousness. I think he'll be . . .better then before but from what I gathered the block isn't permanent."

Tsunade looked over at the mind-reader with a raised eyebrow, "'She'?"

He hesitated before nodding, "It's a manifestation of Shepard. Or . . .the original owner of the memories. 'She' is the entity. Also, according to her, she is blocking the influence of the fox . . . ." The Hokage nodded, dismissing Inoichi before turning to Kakashi and glancing at the unconscious Naruto.

She sighed, running a hand through her hair, "I can't tell if those memories are good or bad."

Kakashi shrugged, looking over at Naruto with his one eye critically, "Who knows at this point? I think the best we can do is watch over him at this point."

Tsunade crossed her arms before closing her eyes in frustration, "I hate waiting." Kakashi nodded in agreement.

* * *

**Me: I love Tsunade. I love her attitude over everything. If you can't yell at it, punch it. I might start taking that to heart one of these days. Sadly, you cannot yell or punch at homework. **


	10. Chapter 10

Ichiro Kazama was your average shinobi. He passed the Academy with average grades, rose up to the level of an average Chunnin and overall lived a mundanely average life. Even his looks were average, as he only contained short brown hair and eyes with a perfectly forgettable image.

The only thing that was really valuable about him was his book-smarts. Which were obscenely above average. However, in the world of the shinobi, book-smarts were not highly valued.

One could argue that book-smarts were much more valued in the civilian world. This is true . . .to an extent. It would be much more useful if the civilians could find a practical use for their smarts. Unfortunately, they lived in a militaristic world, where shinobi held all the money and power to _do _anything with said book-smarts. The only things that shinobi were known to study were ways to attack, defend and survive.

This was the main reason that the elemental countries were not as developed as they should have been. They were almost there, to be sure. Just one more advancement and their world would be on the way to an industrial age. However, constant wars and desire to create more aggressive Jutsu held them back immensely. As, in the end, the people with the power and money to advance society did not wish to.

Being such a person with book-smarts, Ichiro found that being a shinobi was the only way he would have ability to research what he desired. It was him who discovered the cave with technology lightyears ahead their own and the Box of Hell, as they had taken to calling it.

It was for this reason that he was sitting in front of the Hokage herself, explaining his new finds.

"Hokage-sama, with all due respect, it would be beneficial to have Uzumaki-san there with us. Not only could his 'memories' help us with going through this technology safely but there is a chance that we might find something to help his current mental state."

Blonde eyebrows furrowed together at the man's words. To say that Tsunade was troubled was an understatement. There was only one reason why she was even considering making Naruto go back to that cave and even then she didn't like it. Her scowl became more prominent as she remembered her conversation with Naruto a couple of days ago.

~Flashback~

_Tsunade walked up to the training grounds to find a grey and orange blob viciously attacking a tree. The blob paused, allowing her to see that it was Naruto, dressed in his orange shinobi pants, but wore a simple black T-shirt with a grey zip-up sweatshirt over it. Seeing him in a different, less cheerful outfit didn't do much to help her thoughts. _

_The boy turned around, smiling as he waved at Tsunade. She grimaced as she noticed the tension in the smile. It was forced and obviously so. However, the fact that he was trying to act like his old self again was a small reassurance. "Naruto!" She called, beckoning for him. He shrugged and jogged up to her, sweating profusely from his training. _

_"What's up Baa-chan? You don't normally come out to visit." When she glared at him in confirmation, he only shrugged. "You usually send in the ANBU or a friend to summon me if you wanna talk." His bright blue eyes looked up to the sky in thought and then back to her, "Are you running away from the paperwork? How did you get past Shizune-neechan?" _

_Tsunade barked out a laugh. Despite his more elegant speak he was still Naruto. "Brat, I'm a ninja! And the Hokage no less! What makes you think I can't sneak past my assistant?" _

_Naruto gave her a deadpanned expression, "You sent her on an errand and bribed the ANBU to let you out, didn't you?" _

How the hell does he know that?, _She asked herself, shaking her head. "Anyway brat. I'm here to talk to you about your . . .condition. Do you think you're up for a mission?" Normally she would have had an ANBU report back to her, but that was with the knowledge of Naruto's habits. She knew next to nothing about this 'Shepard' person and even less about how he would start acting now that their personalities were essentially mixed. _

_Naturally, the prospect of a mission was tempting. Naruto would be jumping for joy at the prospect of one. Normally, he would at least. When his face lit up like it was his birthday, Tsunade had internally cheered. Then, he deflated. Looking as though he was thinking hard about something. _

_She waited patiently for him to start speaking, completely unsure of what to do with this Naruto. "Uh, actually Baa-chan . . . ." He hesitated, shifting his feel in nervousness. "I would love a mission, you know I would . . .but I was wondering if I could actually go back to that cave . . .you know, the one where they found the Box of Hell." _

_Tsunade wasn't surprised in the least at the question. If anything, Shepard herself probably wanted to go back to something more . . .familiar. She sighed as she realized that her plan to distract Naruto about this whole thing had failed. "I'll see what I can do. For now, take a few missions. Only D and C-rank. You're still recovering." She watched as he pouted slightly, but didn't comment. "Alright brat, I should get back before Shizune finds me, keep up the training." _

_Naruto's back snapped up straight, his heels clicked together as his right hand came up into a salute. The scene had shocked Tsunade to much that she nearly fell back. "W-What was that?" She shakily asked, still not getting over the strange militaristic gesture. _

_The blonde-haired shinobi blinked before looked down at his hands, as if pondering something very important before he shrugged, "It's a salute from Shepard's world." His answer was disconnected and far-off as several memories of completing the salute raced through his mind. "Soldiers were known to use it as a 'hello' and 'goodbye' to one another. Force of habit, you could say." Tsunade only nodded dumbly before she sauntered off to her office in a light daze. _

~Flashback End~

Naruto did not act proper. He did not respect authority figures. And he sure as hell didn't _salute. _Tsunade felt that she was losing her little brother figure to whoever (or whatever) this Shepard was. It was even more frustrating that she had no clue how to deal with this 'Shepard'. More accurately, how to deal with this mixture of Naruto and Shepard.

Naruto was unpredictable on his worst days and unpredictably dangerous on his best. That unpredictability combined with his raw power made him a force to be reckoned with on the battlefield. Now it seemed that common sense, tactics and experience was added to that mix, making him even more deadly then before.

While that was a great asset to the Hidden Leaf Village, it pained Tsunade that the price was Naruto's cheerful demeanor and uplifting personality.

Which brings us back to our setting: with the painfully average Chunnin trying to convince his Hokage to borrow Naruto. Of course, said Hokage was reluctant to send her surrogate son/brother/grandson to the very cave that put him in a coma and brought him back . . .wrong.

Yet, it could also be the place that may help him with his new . . .condition. It was the only lead they had. So, with a heavy heart, she stamped the approval form to send one Naruto Uzumaki on a mission to the 'Hell's Mouth Cave'. Named after a certain box that came from it.

* * *

Four blurs raced through the forest, each carrying it's own distinct color. Black, red, white and orange, respectively. The orange blur raced in front, mindful of the blurs behind him. Excitement flooded his veins, causing him to pump a bit more Chakra then usual into his legs. He wanted —no— _needed _to get there as soon as possible. The side of his face twitch as a smile made it's way across his face.

He knew —oh, how he knew— that his excitement was false. It wasn't _his _excitement. _He _could care less about visiting 'Hell's Mouth Cave'. But Shepard's feelings about the place _could not _and _would not _be contained. She demanded answers and well . . .let's just say a SPECTRE, even an ex-SPECTRE could be terrifying.

The Box itself was even making the trip with them. It was safely tucked in a sealing scroll in the care of one Sharingan Kakashi. Naruto had offered to carry it, but Sakura was adamant, saying that they still had no idea what the Box could do to him. 'Nobody touch it.' Was her order. It was obeyed, even if Naruto was sure that the thing couldn't hurt him anymore.

The old mine was a few days away on foot by a civilian. By a shinobi it was roughly half a day. By a shinobi in a hurry it was five hours. Unfortunately, Naruto was in a hurry and impatient to boot, leaving his companions to have to try and catch up with him at full speed. In the end, they reached the cave in three hours with everyone's legs burning.

The cave was being guarded by two ANBU, courtesy of the Hokage, while on the inside there was a collection of scientists all hunched over different pieces of alien technology.

When Team Seven entered the room, there was an abrupt silence as several of the scientists stopped to stare at Naruto. With a disturbing amount of practice, he was able to ignore all the stares in favor of looking over the technology.

"Isn't that . . . ? Yeah it is! Oh man, it's so _mangled. _Garrus would have a heart attack if he ever saw . . . ." The blonde-haired shinobi started talking to himself as he looked over a piece of metal that obviously was set into the 'trash' pile.

The scientists were glancing at one another, whispering on weather or not it was the right decision to put the piece of metal aside.

". . . .Uzumaki-san?" One of the more braver scientists asked, though still obviously afraid of Naruto.

Said blonde turned toward the voice who address him with his head tilted in confusion. "Huh? Oh sorry, you probably don't want me touching anything." The shinobi placed the metal back where he found it before addressing the crowd with a huge grin. "So, what do I do?"

The scientist, a male with dark blue hair and glasses that kept slipping down his nose, answered, "We were wondering if you would look at any technology you recognize and explain to us what you can about it."

The orange-covered shinobi blinked before shrugging, "Sure," He then turned to pick up the piece of metal he previously had in his hand, "This is . . .well _was . . ._something called a 'Sniper Rifle'. It's a really powerful weapon that allows you to shoot far off objects. And it once belonged to a Turian named Garrus Vakarian."

* * *

**Me: And, awesome. Next chapter will probably . . .most likely contain some action. Not sure yet, but it MOST LIKELY will. Anywho, I am currently sitting in Comic Production Class, waiting for something interesting to happen. Wish me luck world, cause I think I'm going crazy with boredom.**


	11. Chapter 11

**Me: UGGGGG, DONE! I HATE HOMEWORK! I HATE WORLD HISTORY! WHY IS KIEVAN RUSSIA REVELENT TO ME?! WHY WON'T ASSASSIN'S CREED 3 COME OUT SOONER?! *slams head on desk***

* * *

Kakashi watched as his student chatted happily with several scientists as he picked up something that looked like . . .a tooth brush? The Copy Ninja shook his head, trying turning his attention back to his Icha Icha, while secretly listening in on what Naruto was talking about.

"Now, uh, this is gonna sound stupid. This is a tooth brush, a really expensive tooth brush that massages your gums and scans your teeth for any extra bacteria. Now that I think about it . . .why is it here?" Kakashi lifted his lone eye to watch Naruto, as he stopped talking and started looking around the room in a slight panic. "No way . . . ._No way!" _He exclaimed, digging through some rubble in the far corner of the room. Several scientists were whispering to one another as he unearthed what looked like a helmet.

"This can't be . . . ? Then where are we? Mars? No . . .the moon? Can't be Earth but . . .the sun's really close, so maybe . . . ." A tanned hand reached out and wiped away some dust from the dented helmet, revealing a symbol.

N7

Naruto looked up before tucking the helmet under his arm and walking to the other side of the room, seeing something that everyone else couldn't. His hand hovered above a wall before he turned back to the scientists. "There's a door here!" Kakashi almost couldn't recognize the panicked look in his student's blue eyes and whiskered face. "There's a . . .oh God . . .we need power! Does anyone have a power source?"

The scientist with dark blue hair and glasses nodded, motioning for a few of his colleagues to go get whatever it is Naruto needed. The group of scientists scurried around, tripping over rubble as they assembled with what looked like a strange metal lump with wires sticking out from everywhere. Naruto was pulling off a metal plate from the wall to reveal an interior of even more wires and tubes.

"Over here," The strange metal device was placed next to him. "Okay, I've done this before . . .or . . .uh . . .Shepard has." Kakashi put his book away before walking over to look over his student's shoulder. He really couldn't make out much but mumblings. "This blue wire crosses over here . . . .no, no, no the _yellow _one goes back there. Okay, now I connect the generator and . . . ."

There was a green light coming from the wall as light vibrations went through the floor. The light was in a circular formation that was in the middle of a crack in the wall. Kakashi looked down at his student and watched as he grinned. The blonde-haired shinobi walked over to the green light and gently touched the center.

There was a jolt and a hum of energy as the door swung open to reveal a hallway with lights across the sides of the floor. A grin split across Naruto's face at the sight of it. "I can't believe it's _here! _And it's _intact! _Oh, Joker would be so excited if he were . . . ." The blonde cut himself off before shaking his head as if to clear away bad memories.

Kakashi reached out to touch Naruto's shoulder, but was too late as the shinobi had walked ahead to the next door that was at the end of the hall. Touching the green circle again opened it to reveal a wall with two turns. Naruto turned right and out of sight. Kakashi looked back at the scientists who were packing up some general gear and following him into the strange cave.

"Kakashi-sensei?" The distinctly feminine voice called to his attention as he looked over to his other students. The Copy Ninja sighed, really not sure what he should be doing. This was really out of his area of expertise.

"Sakura, I need you to stay out here in case any of us get injured. Sai, go and get Yamato. We might need his wood jutsu for holding this place up. I'm going in to find Naruto before he attracts any trouble." There was a light chuckle coming from Sakura before both of them got to work. Kakashi sighed as he looked back toward the hallway he poked his head in and checked the stability of the wall before following the scientists inside.

The cave definitely wasn't the darkest he'd been in, but it was the strangest. Whenever he walked too close to the wall, something would light up and present to him strange symbols that he didn't understand. Though tempted to memorize all of this with his Sharingan, he kept his eye covered in fear of what the technology could do to it.

"It's still working!" The excited exclamation caught his attention, drawing it to the end of the large room the hallways had led to. He could see Naruto crouched in front of another door, only the light was orange, not green. The scientists were all scattered about the room, taking notes and pictures of everything they could find.

Kakashi went to his unpredictable student before crouching down with him. "What is it, Naruto?"

Bright blue eyes turned to him with an excited gleam, "Kakashi-sensei! The elevator still works! Yatta!" The Copy Ninja hummed before turning his attention to the now open door that led to a very small room. Naruto jumped right into the room, looking at a panel that was glowing up at him. "An elevator is a machine that takes you up and down places. No need for stairs." Kakashi wasn't really following Naruto's prattling, but trailed after his student inside the room.

Soon enough, the doors closed and the room jolted and moved them in a downwards motion. It took every once of Kakashi's shinobi training not to whip out his eye and find out what was going on. "This is . . .different." His student only grinned manically as the device finally came to a stop.

"You should ride a roller-coaster. Now those things can flip your stomach." Kakashi didn't bother asking what a 'roller-coaster' was. Instead he sighed and pulled out a familiar orange book. He wasn't really reading it, but it gave him a sense of familiarity in the strangeness of the cave they were in.

When the door opened, it revealed a new hallway. Naruto walked confidently around, checking doors that were obviously jammed shut and other equipment that was hanging out of the walls. "This was the mess hall. Over there was Liara's room, used to be . . .Miranda's and before that it was mine." Naruto talked on as he looked through an opening of broken windows that led to a room with tables laid out side by side. "That WAS the infirmary. The door's broken, so I guess this is our way in."

The blonde-haired shinobi jumped through, landing on shards of glass and piece of burnt metal. Kakashi followed, tucking his book back into it's pocket. There was another door that had an orange light. Naruto opened a panel next to it and messed with the wires inside before it turned green and opened.

Inside was pretty empty except for the futuristic technology. The room was chilled to the point of freezing and there was a table at the end of the room with a lump with a cover on top of it. "Was this . . .the morgue?" It seemed like a plausible question, seeing as how a cold environment was connected to the infirmary of all places.

But Naruto shook his head. "This was . . .the AI room." He walked over to the lump and grabbed the cover. Pulling it away revealed a metal woman. "I'm sorry, EDI."

Suddenly, Kakashi felt like he was intruding on a private moment. The metal woman obviously had an impact on Shepard's life and was obviously now dead. By all rights, this was something Shepard should be experiencing, not Kakashi nor Naruto. "Sensei?" Kakashi broke out of his thoughts and looked over at his student.

Naruto's face held a sad smile, his eyes shining with understanding and filled with a knowing look that was hauntingly familiar. For a split second, Kakashi thought he was looking into the eyes of his long dead sensei. Then he blinked. The moment was gone and in his sensei's place was his goofy, unpredictable student. The Copy Ninja sighed, "Yes Naruto?"

"Could I have the Box?"

Kakashi blinked at the question. He was a little hesitant on handing such a dangerous artifact over but complied anyway. The thing probably couldn't hurt his student anymore then it already had. Pulling out the sealing scroll and using the correct hand signs to summon the Box. Kakashi didn't dare touch it, instead letting his student pick it up and bring it over to the metal woman. From there Kakashi couldn't see what his student was doing, but the occasional clanging of metal assured him that Naruto was hard at work.

Fifteen minutes went by before Naruto shouted "Done!" Blinking his one eye awake, Kakashi looked over his student's shoulder to see . . . .

Nothing.

Absolutely nothing had changed.

"I can't turn her on without Tsunade's permission." Kakashi's lone eye gazed over to Naruto. He was thrown off at the concept of Naruto calling his 'Baa-chan' by her real name, but not entirely surprised. "Hey . . .sensei . . . ." Blue eyes kept gazing at the strange metal woman in thought. Kakashi waited patiently as his student tried to form whatever it is he was going to say. "Is it . . .right?" Naruto straightened his shoulders, "I mean . . .is being a shinobi . . .right?"

Now that question was one Kakashi never would have thought Naruto would ask. Then again, this could be 'Shepard' talking and not his student. "Why do you ask?" he wasn't trying to avoid the question, he was simply curious.

"It's just that . . . ." Naruto sighed, taking his right hand and dragging his fingers through his hair, "In . . .during Shepard's time soldiers were taught only to take life whenever necessary. But shinobi . . .they take it because it's _convenient." _

The silver-haired man thought for all of three seconds before answering, "Naruto, we only take life for the protection of the village or the Daimyo-"

"Don't give me that crap, Hatake." Naruto's once cheerful and warm eyes had now turned to ice as they bore into the Copy Ninja. "Konoha likes to pretend that it's more righteous then the other villages and, granted, in some ways it is. I'm not naive. I know that previous Daimyos have hired us to get rid of political contenders or that we have flattened entire villages for the sake of our 'protection'. I know we've killed children to ensure that a certain heir would make it to power and that we simply sweep such missions under the table so that being a shinobi seems really 'heroic'."

Kakashi really had no reply to such a thing. It was true that certain missions did crop up, but they were usually given to ANBU. The Copy Ninja took a minute to try and process that Naruto knew these things.

"So tell me _sensei," _Naruto took a step closer, not threateningly, but challengingly. "Is what we do _right?"_

A lone, tired eye closed. The older ninja's shoulders sagged in defeat as he was faced with the questions he had ran in his head over and over again. To admit it in front of his colleagues would surely get him killed and if they were anywhere else, he might not have admitted it "No . . .it's not right."

* * *

**Me: I've gone over the moral issues of Naruto for a long, long time and although I adore it, I still have some problems with what goes on. I mean seriously, child soldiers? If we did that here . . . .I can only imagine the reactions. I'm actually a little shocked that parents let it happen . . . .Okay, well, not the ninja parents, but the civilian parents. Anyway, I've been going over in my mind what Naruto would be thinking after attaining Shepard's memories. I know that Shepard would be appalled, but Naruto has known nothing else. **

**I can also see Kakashi questioning it, but not doing anything about it. Especially since he lost everyone he has cared about because of the Shinobi lifestyle. I think what people tend to forget about the Naruto-verse is that it is in a Monarchy and questions such as these would be severely frowned upon and even be punishable by death in a militaristic village such as Konoha.**


	12. Chapter 12

**Me: This is probably the most reflecting chapter I've written. I had to debate with myself ****_who _****would be the next person to touch the box and ****_why. _****Not to mention I was debating something about the Shinobi world. Someone commented that usually a Shinobi wouldn't make their first kill until they were sixteen. While this is true in Peace times, War times are another story altogether and prodigies are exceptions to both rules.** **Just wanted to point that out, as it made me think of Naruto's first C-rank mission.**

* * *

It's a strange feeling waking up and realizing how _old _you are. I mean, my body is sixteen and I still have my energy and everything but . . . . Kami, war just makes me feel so old.

What's worse is that no one can can't comprehend the feeling of your entire species; the entire galaxy being targeted by something virtually indestructible. Not even men, not enough firepower, people turning on one another and your home planet being destroyed. It truly was Hell.

I forcibly shook my head. No, I couldn't get stuck on those thoughts. I couldn't go down that path again. In the end, I didn't know how much time had past since the war and I was cautious about sending out a distress signal. For all I knew the Galaxy was filled with pirates and raiders.

I looked down at the scroll in my hand that contained EDI. If I could reconnect her then I would have a way of communication that didn't put me in the line of fire. Not to mention I would be able to get information on the state of things. No doubt all the species continued on. What puzzled me was the Elemental Countries. It was obvious that the Normandy landed here after the destruction of the Reapers but what happened? Why aren't they connected with the rest of the Galaxy? More importantly, why was the Normandy buried? Why are there no records of what happened?

And where the hell were they in the Galaxy?

Probably the Sol System. The Mass Relays wouldn't have been working for a while, but it's strange how none of the distress signals were activated. There was no way everyone died in the crash so . . .what the hell happened? The Normandy looked the same. Or at least it was still recognizable and not torn to pieces like the original Normandy. I looked at the pilot's chair and smiled as an image of Joker came to my mind.

_"Why does the Alliance hire pilots with Brittle-Bone Disease?"_

_"You're shitting me. The Turian Military has one about me?"_

_"Oh absolutely, I heard it myself from a Private back on Palavan."_

_"All right, why does the Alliance hire pilots with Brittle-Bone Disease?"_

_"So their Marines can beat someone in hand-to-hand drills."_

_"Damn, you need to tell James that one. Hey, what's the hardest part about treating a Turian who took a rocket to one side of his face?"_

_"Figuring out which side took the rocket."_

I snorted. They were joking at the time, but it wasn't just for 'fun'. All they were doing was easing tension. Doing what they could so they didn't go crazy from the thought of the Reapers. I sighed and eased myself into the leather chair. I gripped the scroll like a lifeline and stared at the console that once glowed orange.

I missed them. All of them. Joker, Garrus, Tali, Liara and Kaiden especially. The ones that were there in the beginning and stood by me in the end.

Now, I was all alone . . .again.

* * *

"This better be good, Tsunade. I was in the middle of my research." The white-haired man grinned as he strutted across the room to his old teammate. Tsunade's eyebrow twitched in irritation but she did not comment. No matter how many times she had tried in the past she was never able to stop Jiraiya's habit of peaking on women.

"It's Naruto." The man stiffened at the name. Glancing around, he sighed and motioned for her to go on. Tsunade nodded, motioning for the ANBU to leave the room before activating the privacy seals. "He's not getting better." She didn't have time to beat around the bush. As a medical examiner and as a Hokage, Tsunade could tell that the strain of Shepard's memories were only taking a greater toll on Naruto's mind.

Jiraiya was silent for a long moment before nodding to himself. "Do you want me to place a Memory Suppressant Seal on him?"

Tsunade shook her head, "Can you suppress a lifetime of memories? Not to mention the Kyuubi . . . .I think we would just be wasting our time."

The Toad Sannin sighed, reluctant to comply but did so anyway. She had a fair point. This was _Naruto _they were talking about. "Then what do you want me to do?"

Tsunade pressed her lips together in thought before standing up from the chair to look out the window. "I want this Shepard on our side. I have no doubts about Naruto's loyalty but Shepard . . . ." The blonde Hokage glanced down before looking back up at the Mountain Heads. Specifically, Minato's. "I think that we should give her something familiar. Something that can ensure her loyalty to our village."

Jiraiya's eyes widened as he realized what Tsunade was suggesting. "You mean . . . ?"

The Hokage nodded, "I want to imprint another set of memories."

The white-haired man felt a growing anger in his chest at the thought of subjugating anyone else to the kind of fate Naruto was experiencing. "How could you-?!"

Tsunade cut him off, "NOT without proper precautions of course. I don't plan for anyone else to end up like Naruto. But to do this I need your help with the seals."

Jiraiya's eyebrows furrowed in confusion before realization dawned on him, "You want me to create a separate memory space in their minds." Tsunade nodded, not turning to look at him. "Woman, do you know what that could possibly mean? I haven't done anything of the sort since the Third Shinobi War." Another nod. Although her back was to him, he could sense her radiating confidence. Despite the fact that no real words were exchanged, Jiraiya knew that he lost the argument. "So be it." He relented, feeling a bit disgusted with himself.

Before he turned to leave, Tsunade said one last word. "Another thing, take only volunteers and people who are known to be completely loyal to the village. I don't want to force this onto anyone and nor do I wish for a person skeptical about the village to become even more skeptical."

The white-haired man grinned a little, "And if there are no volunteers."

Tsunade turned and smiled back, "I highly doubt there won't be, but if there aren't then we'll simply drop the project."

* * *

The raven-haired girl looked up at the Hokage's tower and swallowed deeply. She, like every other Chuunin and higher, had heard about the incident with Naruto. It scared her to think about how different he might be now compared to before but she still wanted to help. So when the Hokage called for volunteers to touch the box and help Naruto reach a level of familiarity, she volunteered right away.

She didn't simply volunteer for Naruto's sake (although that did play a big part in it) but she also volunteered so that no one else would have to. She had spotted Naruto a few times and after she realized how different he was from his old self, she immediately started avoiding him. Looking at him made her realize that she didn't want that to happen to her friends, _any _of them.

So, here she was, standing outside of the Hokage's tower, readying herself to be inserted with foreign memories. After taking a few deep breaths, she stepped forward to face her challenge.


	13. Chapter 13

The Kyuubi looked at the female being in irritation. His communication had been cut off from the Kit and with it went any chance of convincing him to let him go free. The being oddly reminded him of his previous container, as it happily sat there with it's back to the cage, looking through a scroll.

"Man, these things are so _cool!. _What _is _Chakra anyway? Biotic energy? Or maybe some backlash radiation of some sort from when the Reapers were destroyed?" The red-head hummed to herself while the menacing beast tilted an ear in her direction. Deciding that she wasn't saying anything interesting he shut his eyes and attempted "Hey, Fuzzy!" The Kyuubi growled at the demeaning name, not bothering to answer the lower creature before him. "Oi! I'm talking to you!"

The demon opened one eye at the woman who was now facing him. **"What is it, worm?"**

Shepard only rolled her eyes before opening her mouth to speak, "How were you created? I mean, they say you're a being of pure Chakra right? Well, how did Chakra get a consciousness?"

The fox demon regarded the human being in front of him. No container had ever been interested in his _name _much less how he came into existence. It gave him . . .an odd feeling. Not one laced in hatred or morbid amusement, but a warmer one. So, he did what any other demon would do. Squash the feeling and return to mocking his future prey.

**"I am under no obligation to answer you." **

Shepard snorted, "C'mon Fox Bastard, what else do you have to do? I mean, you're locked up in a _sewer _for Maker knows how long, so why don't you just talk to me?"

The old fox stared at the creature in front of him as she stubbornly glared back up at him. Deciding to answer her for his own amusement, he began his tale. **"It all started with a man known as the Sage of the Six Paths . . . ."**

* * *

"Are you sure about this?" The Hokage asked with a tone laced in power and worry. Hinata looked at her with determined pale eyes. Her passion, usually something that was smothered by her shyness, was shining through in full force. She nodded her head and straightened her back.

Tsunade wasn't fooled by her front, however. She knew that Hinata was scared, if the shaking of her hands were any indication. However, this was the most backbone and stubbornness Hinata had shown outside of battle, which meant that she was serious about doing it. The blonde Hokage was also sure that she understood the ramifications for volunteering and that she was sincere about it.

"Alright. You will accompany Jiraiya to the excavation site to meet up with Kakashi and Naruto. When you're there, Jiraiya will apply the seal and then you will be authorized to touch the box. Remember, we do not know if your . . .brain waves are compatible with any of those inside that box. DO NOT touch the box before the seal is applied. Not even in an emergency. Understood?"

"Hai, Hokage-sama"

"Good. Dismissed."

* * *

The journey through the forest was done so in silence, which was perfectly fine with Hinata. It gave her time to her thoughts, which she desperately needed right now. Over the past few days, she had committed one of the worst crimes imaginable. Or at least in her mind it was.

She had lied to her father.

Granted, she was under no obligation to answer him. She was reporting directly to the Hokage for this matter, so he could not order her to either. Given everything though, lying to him about where she was going wasn't a smart move on her part. He would be notified about what happened to her and even if he wasn't he would notice the change in demeanor she was going to have afterwords.

Still, the thought of how disappointed he would be for her lying was something that she didn't want to think about.

They reached the site just as the sun was rising. As they climbed down the cave and into the dimly lit room, both the Toad Sage and the Hyuuga looked around at the technology in awe. It looked like something right out of a Science Fiction novel!

"Over here!" they heard a shout. Hinata looked over at the familiar voice and breathed in relief as she saw Sakura standing there with Sai and Yamato. The pink-haired shinobi blinked as she caught sight of Hinata but shook her head as if deciding not to ask about it. "Naruto and Kakashi are inside with the scientists. Apparently this . . .thing used to be Shepard's ship. Or . . .they called it a ship, but it sailed in the sky."

Two pairs of eyes widened in awe as they looked at the strange symbols on the side of the metal plating. There were a couple of chuunin chipping away at the rubble using Earth Jutsu and a scientist was was cleaning the metal from beneath it.

"That's amazing," Hinata breathed as she activated her Byakugan. The ship's interior was so _complex. _Wires crisscrossed all over it and yet somehow still left room for a sizable living space.

"God dammit Joker!" A shout forced her out of her thoughts. She glanced through the opening on the ships, seeing the Chakra system that obviously belonged to Naruto. "That little _liar! _He _swore _to me that he didn't download any!" Confused, Hinata deactivated her Chakra and followed Jiraiya inside the structure. They turned a corner to see Naruto looking at a strange orange screen and grumbling to himself as he leaned back into a chair.

"What is it brat?" The Toad Sage asked, a little cautious at the irritated attitude Naruto was displaying.

The blonde-haired Gennin snorted, "If I showed you, Ero-Sennin, then you would probably die from a nosebleed." Hinata blushed heavily at the implications of what that meant. She lowered her face so that her bangs hung over her eyes in an attempt to hide her embarrassment, but it did nothing to hide her flushed cheeks.

With a sigh, Naruto pressed a button and the orange was gone. "Anyway, what're you doing here?" He turned the chair around and glancing at his two new visitors. "Hinata?" He asked with slight surprised. "You volunteered?" The poor girl could not find her voice, instead she only nodded. Naruto nodded as well, but held a distant look in his eyes as he looked over Hinata, probably wondering who would take place in her mind.

The sound of someone clearing their throat broke the silent tension that was slowly rising. Blue and violet eyes turned to look at the Toad Sage. "Well, are we ready to begin? Might as well get it over with." Shinobi and Kunoichi looked at one another before nodding once more. There was no point in delaying it.

Naruto got up from his seat and gestured for Hinata to take it. She hesitated, but only for a second as she tried to process Naruto giving his seat to _her. _Jiraiya walked up and pulled out his sealing materials. Pushing back her bangs, he started painting the complex seals. Hinata shivered as the cold ink touched her skin. Closing her eyes, she let the Toad Sage work in silence as intricate designs took their place upon her forehead, around her eyes and even some on her checks.

It felt like an hour before the older man pushed his Chakra into the ink and pulled back. The once cold ink turned warm with the hum of Chakra embedded into it. A headache started forming at she felt her mind being split into two parts. "Naruto, get the Box." The Hyuuga didn't dare open her eyes as she heard the shuffling of paper and a light 'poof' of something being summoned. Nervousness rooted itself in her chest as she felt Naruto move closer to her.

Gently, Naruto took her hand from the armrest, hesitating as he held it. "Are you sure about this?" He asked in a worried tone, one much like Tsunade's.

Hinata smiled at the concern he was exerting. It was so . . .Naruto. And it gave her comfort that he was still in there somewhere. "Positive." She whispered. After a moment of silence, she felt her hand being moved once more until her fingertips reached cold metal. The last thing she remembered was a winter landscape with the sound of waves in the distance before falling into darkness.

* * *

**Me: I want to thank imsabbel for giving me an extensive review that really helped with me organizing my thought with this fanfic. There are, however, a few things that he/she mentioned that I would like to address. I know it seems like I'm emphasizing age between Naruto and Shepard and that seems to be the reason why Shepard is kinda overshadowing him, but I'm more leaning toward experience and freshness of memories as the reason why.**

**You see, Shepard was just in a war, something that could age anybody considerably (Mentally wise). Not only was it a war, but it was a war to save all the species in the galaxy (a little dawning if you think about it). So her experience and trauma exceeds Naruto's considerably. Not only that, but to Naruto the war was ****_just happening._**** He literally woke up from being on the verge of dying and making a huge decision on how to save the galaxy. I'm surprised that he didn't just up and attack everyone in the room, but that was to show that he does have some 'Naruto' left in him.**

** As for Shepard overshadowing him . . .it's a little different they you're thinking. Think of it like someone gaining Amnesia (Geez, I can't spell that word without capitalizing it anymore. Stupid horror games.) and living a different life for thirty years before waking up with those previous memories. If Naruto had been completely suppressed, I can guarantee that he would never accept the advice and support he is being given right now. It's more like he's confused with who he is. The Amnesia thing remember? He now remembers what he used to be like, but he had been acting completely differently for the past thirty years, so it'll take awhile before he gets back into the thick of things and even then it will never be the same.**

**As for Hinata, I'm not going to spoil who's memories she's going to . . .uh . . .'host'. (It's not 'gaining' as she will only 'remember' things subconsciously.) But I can tell you that it's not Tali. I thought about giving her Tali, but then I thought about Tali's attitude toward her family and Hinata's attitude toward hers. While similar in their personalities, Tali is much closer to her family (specifically her father) then Hinata ever was. I didn't want to give Hinata misplaced loyalty to her family, as I do not appreciate the way they treat her, so I didn't give her Tali. **

**I wanted to give her a backbone as well. The problem with Cannon! Hinata is that she doesn't have much of a spine (I still adore her). Not really her fault, given with how she was raised. So I thought about it for awhile and I realized that I had to get rid of some of her shyness. Originally, I thought about giving her a strong female figure to work with, but then I went back to the concept of family. I didn't want her to ****_hate _****them, as that's just not Hinata and I didn't feel like any of the female Mass Effect character could give her the boost I need. So, all I will tell you is that I choose a male. More because I felt like if she had a ****_proper _****older brother (Neji doesn't count. He had a stick up his ass for waaaaay too long and misplaced anger toward the poor girl.) figure she probably would have ended up more confident.**

**About Tsunade allowing the memory transfers of the Box. I don't think she'll go crazy with it. As Hokage, she has to utilize every military advantage and advanced technology would be a huge asset. But, she's also a Medic and Mother figure, so she wouldn't take this lightly. I don't see her going crazy with this kind of power or forcing it onto anyone. Especially since the person she sees as a son is struggling with it enough as it is.**

**Ug, this is why I try to keep my 'talk' session short. I rant. That's a fact of life. Ranting is fun. But, please understand dear readers that I have a reason for everything I put into here. It may seem confusing at first, but all will be revealed in the end. Riku. Out.**


	14. Chapter 14

"Let me do it." It was rare for a Chunnin to demand something from a higher up. It was much more rare to find one with the guts to stand up to their Hokage. Yet, here was one such Chunnin, standing in front of the Legendary Sucker and not the least bit afraid.

Tsunade sighed at the massive headache forming as Iruka stood firm in front of her. He had been bothering her since Naruto had rejected his offer of ramen, claiming he was 'not hungry for it'. Naruto rejecting ramen was a grave sign of the apocalypse as far as she was concerned but with this new development she wasn't even sure if Naruto was . . .well . . .Naruto.

Suddenly, the Hokage felt the gravity of her true age hold her. She knew that there was no was to stop Iruka. As far as he was concerned, Naruto was his brother. His only family left and in his mind his little brother was suffering so therefore, he had to help him.

It was simple really. For him at least.

The blonde Hokage bit down on her bottom lip in frustration. Iruka hadn't been the only volunteer. Sakura, Lee, Kiba and surprisingly Neji had all volunteered at one point or another. She half-expected all of the nine rookies and Maito Gai's team to all have volunteered at the end of the week.

Tsunade leaned back in her chair, pinching the bridge of her nose in a futile effort to ward away the headache that was forming. With her free hand, she reached for the drawer that held her stash of sake. Relief filled her as she felt the familiar bottle still there. Shizune probably thought that she deserved a break.

She pulled out two glasses, setting one in front of herself and the other in front of Iruka. "It's hard isn't it?" Tipping the bottle, sake poured into his cup first and then hers. "Watching him be . . .well . . .not him." It was hard to describe what Naruto was now. She watched as Iruka as he picked up his own glass and stared at the alcohol in thought.

His brown eyes reflected back at him in the sake. He thought of Naruto. He had not talked to the boy since he woke up, being caught up with papers to grade and tests to create. He told himself that he would see him later. Talk to him and help him through whatever it was he was going through. Now, he knew that he was only scared. No . . .not scared. He was terrified of seeing Naruto acting completely . . .different.

Without another thought, the Chunnin through back the drink and let it burn his throat on the way down. "Another, please." He said, practically slamming the cup on the desk. The Hokage complied, sipping her own drink as she did so. "Of course it's hard." He started speaking. His posture was no longer held upright and his words weren't as carefully chosen. "He doesn't deserve this, Hokage-sama. He doesn't deserve having to go through this." He threw back his second cup of sake, not caring of his misconduct in front of the village leader. "I saw him, you know? I tried to talk to him, to take him to ramen. But . . .I . . .He just . . .looked so dead. So goddamn lost that I couldn't . . .I just . . ."

He paused, taking a deep breath, leaning hid head back to look at the ceiling before bringing it down again. "How in the hell could I possibly know what he's going through. It was bad enough with Kyuubi and now this?! At least before he could hide his pain. He could smile and laugh things off and then we could all ignore it because it was _Naruto_." His fist came down on the Hokage's desk with a fury. "I did it too you know? I ignored his problems like it was nothing and pretended that he could handle it. Sometimes I forget that he's only fifteen, he seems so immature but when it comes down to it you know it's just an act. He was never really happy. Not all the time, at least. But we never noticed it . . .we're shinobi for Kami's sake, how could we not notice it?"

It was rare for Iruka to blow up like that, especially in front of someone who was of higher authority then him. Tsunade gave a sad smile to her own cup, setting it down in front of her gently. A file was laid out in front of her, ready for her approval or dismissal. Slowly, she took her pen and reached over to sign in the 'approve' column. "Iruka Umino, you are to wait here until the science team arrives with team seven, Jiraiya of the Sannin and Hinata Hyuuga. If the . . .experimentation on Hinata has been a success then I will approve you touching the Box. Dismissed."

* * *

It was amazing how much tension could build up over time, especially when you're waiting for something to happen. It was like watching a program download. You knew that it would take a while, yet you kept staring at it anyway. That's why Shepard developed a habit of forcing herself to do other, more productive things while waiting. Especially when there was a loading bar on a screen.

This was another reason why Naruto, instead of hovering over Hinata as he felt he should do, had his head underneath Joker's desk, jacket off and his back on the floor, trying to fix whatever problem there was with the engines. Of course, this would be done faster if he knew what was wrong with them. But to do that he would need to go to the engine room and extract the status update and that would require leaving Hinata.

Also, his position allowed him to check on his friend once in awhile, as she was resting in the pilots chair, facing the dashboard. So, he could keep his hands busy and satisfy that 'waiting-for-no-reason' syndrome.

" . . .Ah . . . ." There was a small noise from the chair, causing Naruto to lean up quickly, smacking his head on the piece of metal that obscured his head. Wincing, he carefully pulled himself out of the little hidey-hole and watched as Hinata's features twitched with the sure sign of waking up.

"Oi! Pervy Sage!" Naruto yelled a bit, calling over to Jiraiya and Kakashi who had been in a deep discussion about 'Icha, Icha . . .' . Both men abruptly stopped, turning their attention to the waking girl. Pale, lavender eyes shuddered before lifting themselves a bit. Naruto leaned in with anticipation, wringing his hands on his black T-shirt. When it became apparent that Hinata had indeed fully woken up (with a full-on blush of having Naruto so close) the blonde felt ready to ask his question, "Did it work?"

Dark eyebrows scrunched together in confusion before rising in remembrance. "Y-yes, N-Naruto-kun. I-I believe i-it did work."

Sighing in relief, the orange-clad shinobi looked thoughtful for a second before launching into his next question, "What do you remember?" Not that Shepard wouldn't be thrilled for any one of her teammates to be there with her, so it didn't really matter whose memories she had. Naruto was simply curious as to who on Shepard's team would've been most compatible with Hinata.

Hinata blinked at the abrupt question but frowned before twirling her tongue on the roof of her mouth. There was a faint taste there and a large craving that came with it. It was sharp on the tongue but smooth down the throat. A vision of a golden liquid came to mind when she tried to place her craving. "I . . .remember a clear field, covered in snow. S-strange machines that could fly. A-and I'm having a c-craving for a . . .liquid of some sort. I-it's bitter b-but it's s-supposed to be like that. I-I think it w-was called 'Konakee' . . . ." The raven looked down at her hands before sighing in helplessness, "T-that's all that I r-remember."

Kakashi and Jiraiya looked at one another before turning back to the girl. Naruto, on the other hand, had his right hand clamped over his mouth and his body was shaking in barely contained laughter. "Of all the things to remember first . . . ." The hysteria only continued as finally the blonde couldn't contain himself and simply burst out laughing. "Maker, Kaiden! You and your Canadian beer!"

Hinata's eyes glazed over at the name 'Kaiden'. Shudders erupted from her body as memories of smoking ruins and a red light flowed in front of her eyes. She was yanked out of it as suddenly as she was put in. 'Not yet . . . .' A voice in the back of her head said, 'Start slow. Early memories first . . . .' "Damn you, Pervy Sage!" Was the yell that pulled her back to reality to the sight of Naruto getting head-locked by Jiraiya.

"E-excuse me!" Hinata said in a slightly raised voice before retreating to her softer tone, "A-ano . . .it seems that I have Kaiden-san's memories." Though it wasn't necessary, she wanted to reassure herself that she actually attained someone's memories. It was an odd feeling . . .almost like that childhood memory that you could barely remember but held onto because it was so precious.

"Not entirely." Hinata was pulled out of her thoughts once again as Naruto spoke up with a sigh, "I'm going to bet that you haven't 'merged' with Kaiden. Or at least, not to the extent that Shepard and I have and I doubt she ever will," At the word 'Shepard', Hinata's blood raced with foreign feelings of loneliness, loss, love, regret and . . .guilt? No, there was definitely guilt, but something else was mixed up with it. The dark-haired girl's chest contracted and her body temperature rose as a tingling sensation raced through the lower part of her body.

As suddenly as it came, it stopped. Leaving her breathless and strangely unsatisfied. 'Sorry . . . .' The voice in her head whispered as Hinata wondered exactly what that was. Fortunately, her composure wasn't lost with the split-second sensation, so non of the others noticed it. Hinata looked up to see Kakashi and Jiraiya staring at Naruto.

"What do you mean?" It wasn't hostile tone as the Toad Sage said it but it was filled with apprehension.

Naruto sighed, jumping on his heels to sit on the dashboard, careful to avoid the open pieces of machinery. "Finding a person's exact brainwaves is as likely as finding a needle in a sea of senbon. There is no doubt in my mind that without the extra space that Pervy Sage was able to place in her brain, touching that box wouldn't have effected Hinata one bit." The blonde-haired boy crossed his arms and smiled at said girl to reassure her. "Of course, she had to have some compatibility, or else the signals would never have connected. Regardless, I highly doubt that it was a full one-hundred percent match. Probably somewhere between seventy to eighty percent."

It was odd, to say the least, to hear Naruto speak so articulately. Although the three of them could easily understand what he was saying and explaining, it was odd to hear it. For Kakashi and Jiraiya, it was almost like Minato had come back from the dead, for Hinata, it was like the old Naruto had come back.

After observing someone from childhood, one became aware of said person's habits and past experiences. For Hinata, who also had an excellent memory, she remembered what Naruto used to be like just as he entered the academy better then most. With this, she knew that he would have been good at school, if he was only given a fair chance. He had always been loud but he wrote good notes, asked questions and tried his best. The teachers, however, were biased toward him. They ignored him and sabotaged his tests to the point where Naruto simply gave up. Iruka came much too late, only seeing the Naruto who had no interest in studying, much preferring the hands-on stuff.

Still, for it to come back so suddenly must have been a show of Shepard's personality. It frightened Hinata that she was losing the one person she admired and so quickly.

_'No, not losing.'_ She tried to reassure herself,_ 'He's just different. The same Naruto with new experiences. Like when he came back from his training trip.'_

_"You show up after two years and tell me you're working for Cerberus. Where does reason figure into any of this?"_

The memory jolted Hinata. It filled her with bitterness, resentment almost and . . .guilt? What was that? She shook her head, not wanting to go into her new memories just yet. Truth be told, they were starting to scare her and she wondered if this 'Kaiden' was really as close to Shepard as she was led to believe. Shivering slightly, the raven-haired girl watched with amusement and nervousness as Jiraiya and Naruto playfully fought one another.

* * *

**Me: Ah, man. This was a difficult chapter to write. Still, I like how it turned out. I will not be able to update as recently as I used to, as I am struggling to get my homework done and I have many projects I must try and get done. BUT I will still try to write when I can, I have many plans for this fanfic.**


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